


Hearts of Gold and Blades of Steel

by LaDeeDa



Category: Original Work
Genre: Cunnilingus, EVERYONE IS A LESBIAN, Everyone Is Gay, Everyone ends up with everyone at some point, F/F, Fantasy, Female Friendship, Genre appropriate violence/fighting, Girls Kissing, Lesbian Sex, Lesbians, Magic, Mercenaries, Monsters, Multiple Pairings, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Oral Sex, Rough Kissing, Rough Sex, Semi-Public Sex, Sex, Strong Female Characters, Swords, Useless Lesbians, Vaginal Fingering, Women warriors
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:01:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 37,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22323004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaDeeDa/pseuds/LaDeeDa
Summary: Matilde and Eudora once rode together as sword-sisters and lovers, slaying beasts in the day and spending their nights tangled together in their tent. But when Eudora refused to settle down, to give up her adventuring and play the role of housewife, they parted on fiery terms. The end of their relationship split their party in two and broke both of their hearts.Now they ride with their own bands of warrior women, fulfilling contracts, bounty-hunting and generally chasing adventure. However, when a chance meeting occurs (courtesy of some hungry imps) and they are forced to speak again, old feelings may just creep back into their hard hearts.7 women. Multiple pairings. Fighting both monsters and feelings. Everyone ends up in bed with everyone at some point.Beta-read by the most amazing Rebelrsr <3
Comments: 58
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1 - Eudora

**Author's Note:**

> As this story is based in the same fantasy realm as my 'A to Z' series (Elatior) I felt I should put the same notes at the start for clarity. Please find copied below:
> 
> 'Please note that within this fantasy realm darker skin is considered more beautiful, healthy and is a sign of wealth. This is what I was taught growing up by my mother (I couldn't play in a paddling pool more than ten minutes before she was checking me for tan lines, hoping I would get darker) and to this day I still can't help but see darker skin as a sign of vitality. I thought it would be interesting to use this in a story, so, here it is! The reason I'm putting this note in first is that I want people to understand why I added this background information in and I want people to know that I mean no offence by it. It is simply another layer added to this fantasy society. Thanks!'

Eudora

The road had been kind to Eudora and her group for the first third of their journey. She had a predisposed suspicion of taking roads when she travelled due to the likelihood of bandits and conmen laying in wait for passing suckers. Eudora and her girls were not suckers but they also didn’t like to waste time, they had a contract to complete. The sooner they reached Silver Night Mine, the sooner they could get inside and rid the long winding tunnels of the troll pack that had burrowed their way into the lower depths and the sooner they had the mine owner’s signed statement that they had cut down every hairy-backed, tusked monster the sooner they could return to Marius at Emerald Heart Keep to collect their gold. They had cleared the very same mine of the very same beasts near ten moons ago and two years before that, the western region of Elatior was rife with troll activity due to all the mud, mines and mountains. They would be back again in the spring, Eudora had no doubt, that was when all the animals multiplied, a good time for those like herself who made their coin from hunting contracts.

Light mist-like rain had glazed them, their horses and the beaten path they followed, softening the mud and decorating the stones that lined their way with a delicate sheen. Blaire had grumbled all day about it causing her fluffy hair to curl out of her twin braids even more quickly than usual and her permanent flyaways slicking themselves to her forehead, neck and cheeks. Eudora gave her a sympathetic smile every time she made a frustrated comment, usually as she untied and re-plaited her long brown hair; it was strange for Blaire to be caught complaining about anything but her hair was an enemy she fought regularly and unfortunately lost to far too often. That was how she had gained the incredibly impressive ability to braid hair while riding at full gallop, something Eudora was very jealous of, she could barely braid her own hair sitting still.

Aside from Blaire’s occasional muttering of curse words, for the most part it was their newest recruit who filled the silence as they rode, asking endless questions and pointing out things she found interesting in the scenery from the end point of their diamond formation. She never seemed to be directing her words at any member of their group in particular but Eudora, Blaire and Magali all took turns in answering her. None of them wished to squash her young and carefree spirit, at times they found it energising to travel with someone so youthful and full of excitement. Although Lowri had been riding with their group for a full two seasons her boisterous nature had yet to diminish and she had beamed with excitement from the moment they had been handed their newest bounty papers. Soon to leave her teen years, Lowri was naive and sweet but strong. Very strong. With consistent and careful mentorship she would grow into a fine warrior, Eudora was certain of it.

“Does this Silver Night Mine actually contain silver?” Lowri called out from the back of their formation.

“A long time ago it did,” Blaire responded, her voice soft and motherly as it always was when she spoke to Lowri, it was the same tone she had used with Eudora once, “a small deposit was found and they built the mine around it. Once that dried up the owner had his workers keep digging till they found something else since he had purchased the land.”

“Is that why Marius said there would be many tunnels to check?”

“It is, some of them will be very deep.”

“So did he find anything else to mine? The owner, I mean.”

“Small pockets of iron here and there, not enough to make him rich but enough to afford to keep digging, or so I’ve heard. But then I suppose if he found diamonds he wouldn’t be spreading it across the village for any old bugger to hear. Then he’d have thieves as well as trolls to deal with.”

“I’ve never seen a real diamond.” Lowri admitted.

Eudora was not surprised by the statement, until joining her group Lowri had never left her family’s farm. There were many things the young woman had not seen.

“Dora and I once recovered a pouch of jewellery for a noblewoman from some highwaymen.” Blaire began and Magali’s pouty lips turned up slightly at the corners as they always did when she could tell Blaire was about to begin one of her many tales, she was a storyteller that could rival the greatest of bards. “It had a few pieces of silver, rings and bangles, but the item we were truly being paid to recover was the necklace. I still remember watching Dora pull it out like it were a snake,” She laughed to herself and Dora smiled with her, the damn thing had been heavier than any snake she had held. “thick gold discs gaining size to the centre where the fattest diamond you have ever seen stared up at us, blinding us when the light hit it.”

“How fat was it?”

“Fatter than my fist.” Blaire held up the fist in question for Lowri to ‘ooh’ at. “If you attached it to a stick you could use it as a ball-and-chain flail that would knock out a minotaur.”

Eudora spluttered in her attempt to contain her laughter, Blaire was always the exaggerator, she claimed it made her stories more entertaining but Eudora was unsure if that was more entertaining for her audience or herself.

“How did she wear it then? If it was so heavy.”

“From what we saw, she didn’t. We handed over the goods, she gave the necklace a once-over, put it back in its display box and chucked the pouch away, plenty of good silver items just tossed away for some servant to scoop up and tidy away.”

“Exactly as I predicted,” Magali added with a sly grin, “which is why no one noticed the one or two… or three… missing rings.”

“You stole her jewellery?” Lowri gasped with barely-concealed exhilaration.

“We were hired to secure the necklace, the rest was a bonus that she tossed aside anyway.”

“What did you do with the rings? Sell them?”

All three women stretched an arm out, bringing a hand each out to the centre of their diamond formation, Eudora leaning back to point her arm behind her. Each of them wore a silver band on one of their fingers. The rings didn’t match in their engravings but they shared a single memory of laughter in the night, bright smiling faces lit by the campfire and wiggled fingers as they each chose their own shining trinket.

It was the only ring Eudora wore and she had never felt an ounce of guilt for stealing it, it was no doubt a shabby gift Lady Adrienne’s husband had bought her for some trivial misdemeanour. It was unlikely that the spoilt noblewoman had ever worn it since receiving it. She and her girls deserved nice things and Lord Gateshead didn’t exactly pay them well for the service of collecting his lady wife’s jewels. The rich and titled are always the first to believe they have the right to a discount, except they do not request such a privilege, they simply don’t pay their debts in full and then lecture those who have provided the service of how fortunate they should feel to have been allowed to aid them in their time of need. Occasionally there were promises of good words being passed on to their noble friends, once or twice even to royalty, but Eudora had no interest in good words, she wanted good coin.

“Wow!” Lowri whistled appreciatively, “I want one!”

The women pulled their hands back, returning them to their reigns.

“You’ve been saving your pay, right?” Blaire said gently, “You can buy one from a merchant when you see one you like.”

“I have yet to become accustomed to even carrying so many coins, I don’t know how I’d manage to hand them all over for such an expensive purchase!”

One of Eudora’s fondest memories in all of her twenty-five years was having the privilege of handing Lowri her first ever payment. It had been a small-time job, half a day of riding and the swift dispatch of an unruly wolf that had been crossing over the boundary lines of a small village unable to defend themselves; but sitting all together at a cramped wooden table in a stuffy, dark inn and splitting the reward into four piles had felt enormous, the look on Lowri’s face when she watched her small stack of silver coins slide across the stained surface towards her was worth ten times any amount of money Eudora had ever earned.

“You’ll get used to it, child, trust me.” Magali advised with a knowing wink.

“On my father’s farm an extravagant expense was buying clothes that weren’t for working in… I don’t know what he’d say-”

But she was interrupted before she could finish vocalising her memories when an angry yell reached them through the tall and thick trees clustered either side of the road. It sounded like a woman, and she sounded endangered.

Eudora steered her steed, Marionette, to a halt, turning to face the source of the noise. Her group pulled their horses up beside her and peered curiously around her but the view was unclear through the wide peeling trunks and low-hanging branches. She raised her hand to keep the group silent and still as she nudged her horse forward, squeezing between the trees softly. Once her view was less obstructed and she sat in the thick of the trees the situation became clear fairly quickly.

“Three women,” She announced, “armed, most likely sell-swords but they’re surrounded by imps, it looks like they have been ambushed.”

“Aren’t imps rather small?” Lowri whispered nervously.

“Their heads are as high as your hips on your horse and their teeth are like daggers.” Blaire replied solemnly, “You can lose a foot or hand easily if you are outnumbered.”

“Come on,” Eudora called behind her with a twist of her head, “they look like they could use some help.”

Her girls needed no further instruction and followed her into the undergrowth without hesitation, their faces hardening ever so slightly as they prepared themselves to fight, switching from lazy comfortable riding to concentrated handling to manoeuvre their horses between branches and trunks. Once they had traversed the lines of trees and their winding roots a wide lumpy field opened up before them. At the eastern edge the women Eudora had spotted were doing battle with a horde of imps, their round bald heads bobbing up and down as they scrabbled to find an opening to gnaw on human flesh.

The largest of the three women wore half-plate armour with forest green underclothes and a shining silver helmet, she was armed with a large shield and a fine, albeit bloodied, sword and even from a distance Eudora could see she was an experienced warrior. She cut down every imp that approached her swiftly and without delay. However, she was consumed by the little bastards throwing themselves at her and did not seem to see her comrade behind her struggling to keep astride her steed. It was no wonder that the woman was struggling as she was far too close to the fight to be of great use given that she was armed with a crossbow. She showed no expression of fear or anger on her flat face ad instead diligently continued reloading her bolts and taking her shots. She had a good aim and quick hands but the crossbow is not a weapon for close range and she would either be dragged to the ground or eaten to the knees if they did not hurry.

Riding around their group with a bouncing gait, their third member was knocking down and decapitating imps three and four at a time with a spear almost as long as she. Her lithe body swinging from side to side as she twirled her weapon like a baton, her light leathers allowing for incredible flexibility and her incredibly courageous horse allowing her to throw her weight and body in a manner that would spook or at least irritate most. Lowri’s stubborn steed for certain would never allow her to ride so foolishly, she’d be thrown to the mud in a matter of seconds. Although the spear-wielding woman was doing a fine job of eliminating imps, she was not clearing them speedily enough for her friend to find an opening to pull back with her toes intact.

Eudora lead her troupe forward, sharply picking up speed while the imps had yet to notice their approach. She raised her left hand and flicked two fingers forward to signal Blaire to overtake, then made the same sign with her right hand for Lowri. They would take the front line with their steel shields, Blaire unsheathing her sword smoothly and Lowri yanking her mace from her back. Magali was already muttering incantations to herself from the back of their new formation and Eudora recognised enough words to know she was beginning with her routine protection spells. As the wash of a light shielding spell ran over her skin Eudora rearranged herself in her seat, lifting herself for better vantage and lowering her centre of gravity for maximum accuracy as she raised her longbow and readied her first arrow.

“Lowri, you join the plated warrior.” She ordered, taking aim at an unusually tall imp widening his jaw to take a snap at the kneecap of the woman with the crossbow. “Blaire, get to the crossbow as fast you can.” She released her arrow, catching him in the throat and killing him instantly. Normally she would aim for the head but she ran the risk of it shooting straight through to the horse on the other side with the animals clamouring around them so. “Magali, the usual.”

Crossbow was first to notice their approach, nodding her gratitude to Eudora as she finally gained a little breathing room.

Eudora’s ladies all made affirmative sounds and she knew she didn’t need to glance across to check they were following orders, her group was a perfect team, not like most bands of mercenaries. If Eudora did not feel she could consider you a sister, you were not fit for her family.

Blaire reached Crossbow as Eudora knocked down two more of the snarling creatures.

She continued to pick off imp after imp, riding in a wide circle around the area of battle so as to spread her aid amongst the women and simultaneously keep an eye on hers. Blaire is seasoned and confident and it shows in her fighting style, she cuts down every enemy in her path with perfect precision. Lowri is enthusiastic but less accurate, swiping at any bald-headed, sharp-toothed, pointy-eared creature to approach her. Magali is cautious and watchful, her every spell cast with mindful weighing of how she can support her fellow women best, a deliberate mixture of defensive cloaking and shielding spells intertwined with offensive bolts of electricity and small jets of fire.

Eudora paused momentarily, her bow still held taught, at the sound of light laughter; she glanced at the spear-wielder, riding in her fluid carefree manner and apparently enjoying herself immensely. As much as Eudora enjoys the feeling of victory, and especially when it draws near and obvious, she has never guffawed with happiness at any conquest. A strange woman the spear-wielder is but a worthy warrior too and Eudora lets herself smile in solidarity at their success.

They make short work of the remaining beasts, the plated woman lopping off the dry-skinned head of the final imp.

The seven of them collected together a few metres from the bodies now feeding the spongy mud with their blood. The plated woman riding up slowly, as though hesitant of Eudora’s group. For a peasant that would be understandable, but for a woman in heavy and well-forged armour with swordsmanship expertise that a blind man could see, it prickled the skin on the back of Eudora’s neck that this woman would not ride to them confidently, what did she have to be afraid of?

Her fellow warriors awaited her arrival before speaking.

The woman with the crossbow spoke first, “Thank you so much,” her voice was raspy but genuine in her gratitude, “you four have fine timing.”

Their leader pulled off her helmet with a sigh that gripped Eudora’s gut painfully, cutting off any words that might have been ready to leave her. She knew that sigh, and she knew the face that appeared from under the helmet, and the dark blonde waves tied back in a low knot that had been covered until now. Matilde’s hazel eyes locked onto her own immediately and held her frozen in place, worse than any paralysis poison she had been subjected to on adventures past.

“Yes.” Matilde agreed quietly.

“Something wrong, Titi?” Blaire asked with a knowing grin. Matilde’s group blinked curiously, the corners of the spear-wielder’s mouth twitching with amusement.

“It’s been a long time, Blaire.” She dragged her eyes to Blaire’s face slowly to give her a nod, “Dora.” she added softly, sliding her gaze back to Eudora.

“You know these gals?” Spear-wielder asked with a lazy smile and a raised eyebrow, she looked over Eudora’s group with cordial curiosity, her eyes drew you in with thick kohl liner painted across her beautiful monolids and gold powder lightly decorating her waterline, it was a struggle to look away or focus on any of her other features.

Matilde responded with a grunt, “We used to ride together.”

“Oh. Rather awkward.” Spear-wielder’s reply did not match her expression, she remained open and cheerful in face, her eyes twinkling.

Crossbow cleared her throat gently, “Well, it looks as though you are headed somewhere and we would not wish to hold you up so we’ll let you get on with your journey.” she announced, much to what looked like everyone but Spear-wielder’s relief.

“Thanks again for the backup!” Spear-wielder laughed lightly, “Bloody imps, eh?” she adjusted the straps of her spear resting across her back, pulling out any blonde hairs stuck in the clasps.

Eudora’s girls joined her with chuckles and smiles as best they could before waving and nodding their goodbyes. Eudora and Blaire both took just a few extra moments to look over their old friend before turning away and trudging their steeds back to the beaten path.

Eudora’s group rode in silence for not more than two hours before Lowri could not contain her inquisitive nature. She urged her horse, Cordelia, to line up with Eudora, breaking formation with a sheepish look.

“So, you two used to be close?” She asked in a voice barely above the sound of breath.

“A fair while ago.” Eudora answered both honestly and ambiguously.

“How close are we talking?” Lowri wiggled her brows cheekily and Eudora averted her eyes, this youngling was far too perceptive. “Were you two… sharing a tent?”

“And if we were?”

“No judgement here.” Lowri said quickly, “How come you aren’t still… sharing a bed?”

They rode in silence for a few metres as Eudora considered her answer. Blaire knew everything that had happened between she and Matilde but she was kind enough not to speak of it. Magali knew nothing of her last lover and was very unconvincingly feigning disinterest in the conversation happening not a foot from her, turning away to inspect the leaves on every bush they passed.

“She wanted a housewife,” Eudora finally answered, “I wanted to be an adventurer.”

“She didn’t know that about you when you met?”

“When we met I was your average peasant girl.” Eudora smiled softly as she reminisced about her younger self, a skittish and pathetic girl desperate to see the world. “She thought that I would grow out of it, she thought if she took me out on a few wild escapades I would have enough and decide to settle down. I saw her as a mentor, someone I could train under until I was just like her, I wanted us to be equals but she couldn’t quite get her head around that.”

Magali snorted, quickly dropping her plant-enthusiast act, “And she expected you to what, stay at home in some piddly village while she continued to live the exciting life of a warrior?” she shook her head and her dark hair swung around her throat.

“I suppose she wanted roots somewhere and thought a wife would be the best way to create them.”

“She doesn’t have family?” Lowri asked, leaning towards her with those round black eyes that made her appear even younger than her years.

“Not that I know of,” Eudora admitted tentatively, “and from the way she told it they had been pretty nomadic when she lived with them.”

Magali made a humming sound, “So, how did it end?” she asked.

“We fought, I left with Blaire and a couple of our party and never saw her again.”

“Until today.”

“Yes, and hopefully that will be the last time for a good long while.”

“You don’t want to catch up? It sounds like the two of you would have much to talk about.”

“No, I think we should just continue on our journey, we have a lot of ground to cover and those trolls aren’t going to clear themselves.” Eudora answered, fully aware of how weary she sounded. “Lowri, back in formation, please.”


	2. Chapter 2 - Matilde

Matilde

Two years had passed since the last time Matilde had glanced upon Eudora’s face, it had been tear-stained then, her obsidian eyes puffy and her lashes sticking together into dainty points. Matilde’s fault, she knew. Her vicious words striking at Eudora without rhyme or reason, she didn’t agree or believe in a single sentence flying from her mouth but her frustration had bubbled to the surface and there seemed no other method of release but to unleash a torrent of poisonous verbal attacks on her once-lover. There were no tears painting her cheeks now though. Now her face was slimmer, age having refined her features and removed the roundness of her cheeks although her perfect brown complexion had not changed. She sat rigidly upon her horse watching Matilde with a confident, if slightly cautious, expression.

Matilde spoke few words and soon forgot most of them once they had ridden away but she knew she had said her name. The after-taste of the word lingering on her tongue long after they had parted. Dora. How shameful of her to call her by a pet name after their last encounter, she had no right to speak affectionately to her. It had been a fair while since she last allowed herself to be consumed by the shame of her last memories with Eudora, of her terrible behaviour and degrading words. She sighed quietly.

Matilde believed in no gods, spirits or deities but could stretch her imagination to the thought that perhaps bad luck had brought her ex-lover to her group’s rescue in that damp and lumpy field.

Kali had been far too relaxed with Eudora and her group, one might think she had even been enjoying the tension within their circle of steeds. There was a clock ticking in the back of Matilde’s mind, awaiting the inevitable probing or childish comment from the lithe blonde, counting every second of peace and quiet she received as they continued their ride through the crowded and twisted trees which surround the town of Celandine in a moist forest at least thirty acres deep from any side of the tiny town. It was unprecedented for the little minx to have not attempted to raise morale for an entire hour. Kali’s almost-magical ability to lift spirits was welcomed by Matilde and Dani most days as neither of them were the overly-talkative or excitable type, but at times like this Matilde begged within her mind for silence to prevail and allow her to get her thoughts together.

Corn mint peeked out from around the roots of trees narrowly avoiding growing into one another and ground elder coated the forest floor like a white fur rug that their horses’ hooves dirtied with the sharp grooves they left behind revealing the soft mud and grass beneath. Celandine’s forest was the perfect protection for the town, so wild and overgrown it could slow the approach of any man, woman or beast. Their horses were struggling already, treading between high twisting roots at the speed of a babe taking its first steps.

“You’ve never mentioned Dora before.” Kali stated casually, her hips swinging as she rode in her strange freestyle method that should really have bent her spine out of joint by now. She had managed to squeeze herself in line with Matilde, swerving between trunks and ducking beneath branches in order to be beside her despite Matilde clearly leading along the easier route for the ease of her party.

Matilde sighed loudly this time, that Kali would hear her displeasure.

“I have ridden with many women.” She answered with as much disinterest as she could feign, “And her name is Eudora, only Blaire calls her Dora.”

Saying her name again pinched Matilde in the chest, she told herself her armour was simply too tight.

“How many women have you ridden?”

Matilde barely suppressed a third sigh, she knew at the time she would regret the night she gave in to temptation and threw Kali down upon her bedding roll, attacking her slim body like a beast in heat. It mattered not how often they agreed their relationship was purely physical, emotions were always doomed to slip into the equation somewhere.

“I don’t have time for jealousy if that’s why you’re bringing this up.” She said sharply, hoping to shut down the conversation for good.

“I’m just curious, there was an… interesting atmosphere between the two of you.”

Matilde ignored her, maintaining her forward facing gaze. Her tone had been clear, the discussion was over. She knew Kali wouldn’t be hurt by her harsh treatment, nothing could dampen the sprightly woman’s spirit. Matilde’s theory was that Kali was far too relaxed to be inflicted with the wound of hurt feelings by anyone or anything. The woman would be buried with a smile, Matilde was willing to bet gold on it.

Dani, silent as a snooze and reliable as the moon, brought up the rear.

She had had a close call with those imps and Matilde had already made the decision that they would set up camp early that night to allow her additional rest. She didn’t show a great deal in her face, her expression frozen in a blank mask twenty-four hours a day, but Matilde could sense she was shaken.

It was a frustrating ride to the midway point of the forest, knowing that they were so close to Celandine in terms of raw land distance but restricted by the treacherously feral nature of the area, they could not push their mounts past a walk for fear of a stumble or rogue branch. They also could not travel in a straight line, the wild layout of trunks and roots and ditches forcing them to slither back and forth like a snake narrowly avoiding its own tail.

The sun had yet to set when they admitted defeat for the day, they put their boots to the soft ground and began setting up a makeshift camp. Hammocks were strung between the close-knit trees, a small fire built in a pit encircled with moss-covered stones and trip-wires set in a wide circle around their central area.

“Do you want me to cook tonight?” Kali called out as she poked unhelpfully at the growing fire with a flaking stick.

The responsibilities of their group had been divided long ago. Matilde took care of areas such as erecting tents, leading formation and firewood collection; Kali was assigned cleaning and mending of armour and clothes, morale boosting and setting traps; Dani prepared and cooked meals.

Matilde paused to watch the exchange.

Dani glanced between them for a moment or two then returned to the ingredients she was unpacking from her saddlebags, “I’m fine.” she said quietly.

“I know that!” Kali laughed awkwardly, “I just thought you might enjoy being wined and dined by a beautiful woman.”

“Where do you plan to find one?” Matilde asked.

“That’s as much an insult to you as it is to me.”

Matilde couldn’t help but wonder if there was a reference to their more and more frequent couplings underneath her obvious reply.

“I’m going to build up a supply of wood for the fire, try to stay out of Dani’s way.” She ordered.

Kali saluted with a grin, “Yes, m’lady.”

Matilde stepped over the tripwires she had set and squeezed between the trees with a grunt.

Navigating the tangled mess of forest floor was running Matilde’s patience very thin, or rather walking it thin as she could barely move above a snail’s pace through the twisted and knotted roots. The untamed beauty of the woods was undeniable but it was incredibly hard to absorb when you were at risk of losing a foot or being thwacked in the face.

Progress was being made though, Kali’s nattering had faded in volume; with a good few trees between them, she could no longer hear the exact words being spoken. It didn’t matter, it was no doubt for Dani’s benefit anyway. Although those that hadn’t known Kali long understandably assumed she was simply talkative, Matilde had listened enough to realise that the majority of the speaking she did was actually for the relief of others, whether to offer them something, lighten their mood, comfort them, or to keep awkward silence at bay.

Adding to the slow acquisition of suitable firewood was the gentle drizzle that had lasted the better part of the day. Unnoticeable when it first landed on their skin in the early hours of the morning, leaving them with a sweat-like shine after an hour or so, smudging Kali’s intricate eye paint by their second meal, now it had infiltrated the tightly-woven canopy of leaves and branches above Matilde’s head and dampened the top layer of branches and twigs scattered about the ground. She had to resort to digging beneath them like a pig searching for truffles.

Once a hefty bundle of branches sat on her shoulder Matilde began picking her way back to base. First she headed in a rough estimate of the direction she felt she had come from but it wasn’t long before the scent of onions frying in oil and carrots, potatoes and parsnips boiling permeated the area and had her following like a horse on a leadrope.

Matilde stepped gingerly back over the tripwires encircling their camp as Kali was taste-testing a bubbling broth from a spoon held out by Dani.

She smacked her lips appreciatively and put a hand to her chest,”Magnificent as always, Dani my dear!” she announced.

Dani gave only a small smile in response and returned the spoon to the pot, stirring the mixture gently. Her topknot rocked a little on her head as she worked and the design shaved into her undercut had become slightly unclear with the light rain that had slicked the short hairs down in a variety of directions, it was supposed to be a flower with layers of petals but to the unknowing eye it currently appeared to be a geometric tornado.

Kali had pulled her own soggy hair into a low ponytail, maintaining her permanent middle parting that showed her dark roots.

Matilde approached the pair.

“Enjoy your dump?” Kali called from her seat on a root the height of a dog.

The strange question halted Matilde in her tracks, “Pardon?”

“You were gone so long we assumed you were taking a shit.”

Dani nodded at the pot she was tending, “Like a bear.” she added sagely.

“Very funny.” Matilde huffed, dropping her collection of twigs and branches beside her hammock.

“Dani says supper will be ready in about an hour.” Kali informed her with a grin.

“What else does Dani say?” Matilde asked sourly. She had held a suspicion for many moons that their short-haired companion spoke far more when she wasn’t present as Kali seemed to be frequently speaking on her behalf. Dani could speak when she was inclined to, but that was not often.

“That you smell like you’ve just taken a hot shit.”

Dani and Matilde simultaneously protested, “I do not!”

Kali laughed to herself.

“Anyone got anything that needs mending or sharpening or can I take a nap?” She asked, flicking the blonde tail of her tied hair over her shoulder.

“I welcome the closing of your eyes and mouth.” Matilde answered with a grim smile.

“Sleep well.” Dani mumbled.

Kali blew a kiss and swung into her hammock messily, leaving one slender leg dangling from the side.

With nothing better to do Matilde poked and prodded at the fire, doing her best to help rather than hinder Dani’s cooking. When their freshly-plucked chicken was finally mounted over the flames her mouth began to water from the smell. Often she found that riding all day left her hungrier and wearier than fighting, the monotonous movement and strain of holding her body in the same position for hours on end somehow draining her energy. Whenever she shared this opinion Kali would always laugh, she claimed southerners all rode like she did and that’s why they never got saddle-sore or aching backs. Matilde reckoned if she attempted to ride swing-style like a southerner she would have a broken back to worry about rather than an aching one.

The sun set and their dinner was dished out generously, Dani heaping their bowls with meat, vegetables and stew with little preamble, and they gathered together around the fire to eat. The crackle and pops of the flames disintegrating Matilde’s hard-earned wood made a comforting musical accompaniment to the sounds of utensils bumping bowls and the slurping of soup.

Once their dishes were clean and packed away, Kali patrolled their camp, giving each trap a final check, and Matilde hoisted cloth coverings over their hammocks; they had hoped the dribbles of water scurrying down the tree branches would cease by nightfall but it seemed now they would be waking up wet-faced as there had been no break for the droplets journeying to the forest floor.

The fire would keep them warm and dry long enough to fall into their dreams though, they could worry about their damp blankets in the morning.


	3. Chapter 3 - Matilde

Matilde

Reaching Celandine continued to be a slow and exhausting slog of a journey for the half-day they spent travelling since awaking and Matilde felt childish excitement at the sight of Silver Hammer Inn, the pillar of the Celandine community and the largest building in town appearing on the horizon. Despite the sun’s seat overhead notifying her it could not possibly be later than one in the afternoon she was gasping for a deep goblet of wine and a dry bed, dry clothes, dry hair…

They led their horses to the covered shelter leaning against the inn, it had kept the hay inside free of moisture from the never ending sprinkle of rain so it couldn’t be so awful. Their steeds would be dry while they rested. A scrawny young man with pocked cheeks and scabby elbows leant against the wooden frame, observing their approach through half-lidded green eyes.

“We will be taking room until midday tomorrow,” Matilde stated, leaning down over her horse’s neck and taking the boy’s left hand and pressing a dull silver coin into his palm with a stern look, “see that our steeds are well kept, won’t you?”

Upon checking the colour of the coin the boy brightened significantly, it was unlikely he had ever left this small town and even more unlikely he received more than a copper per horse in gratuity from the clientele of the Silver Hammer.

“Yes, m’lady!” He answered cheerfully. No doubt he knew no other formal titles to describe wealthy-looking women.

“I’m no lady.” Matilde snorted, dismounting and handing him the reins of her large mount, Alina. “But you treat my horse like one and we’ll get along just fine.”

“Yes… miss.”

Matilde nodded approvingly.

Dani and Kali dismounted and the three of them slung as many bags over their backs as could possibly balance until they resembled a pack of donkeys trudging into the inn. Luckily Matilde could still swing her hips, using one to knock the door ajar and follow in.

A plump woman with eyes the same shade of deep green as the stable boy’s started with the creak of the front door opening, signalling the entrance of Matilde leading her girls in a short line.

“Good day, ladies.” She called from behind a high counter at the back of the room, twin staircases sat either side of her leading to dimly-lit corridors dotted with narrow wooden doors.

“Good day!” Kali replied enthusiastically.

“Three rooms for the night?”

“Two.” Matilde gripped Kali by her toned upper arm tightly and pulled her to her side, “We’ll be sharing a room.” she grunted firmly in the hopes it would keep Kali from making any loud and unnecessary comments.

Dani’s expression was stone-neutral, she was a dab hand at ignoring the sexual tension between Matilde and Kali. She had to have heard them in the night at least once by now, wet fingers and mouths creating moans and gasps. And yet she never said a word on the subject. Matilde was unspeakably grateful for their companion’s quiet nature, it made her life far easier.

“Of course,” The woman smiled politely and slid a pair of keys across the counter. “each room is a silver a night.”

Dani pulled two silvers from her coin purse and handed them to the woman with a small nod. The woman appraised each coin carefully despite her clear lack of knowledge in identifying fake silver and gave them a smiling nod of approval.

“Both rooms are up on the left side, you will find matching numbers carved into the doors as on the keys. Supper tonight is a hog roast, served just after nightfall.”

They bid their thanks and headed upstairs without hesitation.

Dani entered her room first, bidding the pair good rest and promising to meet them at supper.

Matilde agreed and pushed Kali through their door with what was probably too rough of a hold on her arm. The always-smiling southerner said nothing, allowing herself to be manhandled until the door was secured and then pulling away to unload her bags into the corner of the room. Spreading her things across every raised surface she could find in attempt to use them as makeshift drying racks.

Matilde dropped her own load by the door and began to slowly unbuckle her weighty armour as Kali peeled off her leathers with exaggerated slowness. How the fearless spear-wielder hadn’t had an arm lopped off at the elbow with her arms permanently uncovered as they were, Matilde would never know. On her top half she wore only a chest piece over a thin blouse with no sleeves. Southerners did many strange things but Kali was certainly the strangest woman she had ever met.

Matilde undressed down to her small clothes and placed her armour in neat piles across a low wooden table in the order she would be reattaching it to herself, she did not intend to let her sun-darkened skin feel the air for long, as soon as they were half-dry she would struggle back into her plain clothes at the very least.

When her eyes sought Kali’s lithe frame across the room she found the blonde to be bare as at birth. A beautiful body the young woman has, golden skin laid over distended abdominal muscles that shift ever so slightly with every breath and continues over long and slim limbs littered with thin ivory scars, she has a far more impressive mark dug into the skin above her left hip bone, a cicatrix carved into a misshapen eight-pointed star; but with no modesty to be found anywhere upon her face.

“Do all southerners parade themselves about as you do?” Matilde asked quietly.

“Oh yes,” Kali cooed, climbing atop the miraculously unstained bedding cover and resting on her knees easily, “we don clothing only to save you poor northerners from fits of hysteria.”

“I’m not northern,” Matilde snorted, “you know I was born in Gants Wood.” she moved to the end of the large bed and leant her weight against it, it held firm without a creak.

Kali’s mahogany eyes slid over her slowly, almost intense enough to flutter self-consciousness through Matilde’s exposed body, “Anything beyond the Tilli Fields is north, that makes you north-eastern.” she stated with a greedy grin. “I can overlook that though.”

“How gracious of you.”

“Only on account of your wide tongue, of course.”

With a roll of her eyes, Matilde gave her a shove, knocking Kali to her back with a breathless laugh. She took a narrow ankle in hand and dragged her over the rough material of the cover blanket, a decorative throw of thick mixed colour threads.

Between her legs Kali’s slit was already slick and a light smattering of goose pimples lifted over her thighs at the feel of the cool air on her still-damp skin, Matilde took them in her hands and squeezed, pushing them open and watching her lips pull apart. She lowered her head and dragged her tongue over the warm flesh from hole to clit. Kali’s small feet trembled but she kept her mouth shut for once. And Matilde devoured her.

The sight of Eudora had reminded her of how much more she enjoyed laying with her than Kali. Her soft, docile manner, her wide hips rolling in perfect synchronisation to Matilde’s ministrations as a skilled dancer follows her lead. Sex with Kali was far more reminiscent of a battle than a dance, she felt the need to push back, fighting for control of the bed. Cheeky and unashamed of her sexuality, Kali could prolong sex for hours upon hours, and often attempted to. Matilde had little patience for her games.

She could halt the thoughts of Eudora crawling through her mind, slowly, dragging their way from ear to ear and refusing to hurry no matter how hard she tried to concentrate on Kali beneath her, the taste of her on Matilde’s tongue, her fingers inside of her tight quim, her soft and pretty little gasps so unlike the Kali of the battlefield.

Kali gasped into her shoulder, now sat in her lap, her insides clinging to three of Matilde’s fingers as she jabbed her in a merciless rhythm. With a slow, grinding motion she used her thumb to rub at her clitoris, dragging her to completion with zero teasing.

“Oh gods…” Was Kali’s only forewarning that her small frame would be wracked with spasms, curling into Matilde and gripping at her with thin but strong fingers. Three climaxes for her, it was Matilde’s turn. Once she had slumped, her eyes twinkling and her breaths panting, Matilde slid her from her seat upon her thighs and she fell to her side on the bedding with a soft giggle, her eyes drooping.

“You owe me three, southerner.” Matilde reminded her with a satisfied smile, pulling off her underwear carefully and throwing it from the bed.

A sudden burst of energy seemed to shock its way through Kali at Matilde’s words, like a bolt of lightning hitting her between the eyes. She grinned wildly, her mussed blonde hair flying away from her head at odd angles and adding to her feral aura.

She pounced upon Matilde, knocking her back against the lumpy pillows and grabbing at her breasts and fondling her light pink nipples roughly.

“None of that,” Matilde grunted, giving her a gentle push. “no foreplay, just get on with it.”

Kali pouted, huffed and dropped flat against the bed, facing Matilde’s cunt head-on.

“I will never understand you, Matilde.” She sighed with clear disappointment.

“You don’t need to understand me, you need to fuck me.”

Kali mumbled something to herself and closed the gap between her lips and Matilde’s, latching to her with long slides of her tongue that had Matilde’s body warming quickly. Having another woman’s tongue upon you is a special kind of pleasure, warm and wet and delicate but desperate. It filled Matilde slowly, a thrumming sensation that fell in tempo with her heartbeat and tickled along her spine, over her fingertips and toes.

A finger pushed into her and she bit her lip to keep from snapping at Kali, demanding more and soon. She needed two, craved three and if the little southerner kept teasing at her she would be considering four before she could release. She was already opened and aroused, Kali’s wanton gasps and writhing had left her dripping, she didn’t need to be handled gently or prepared for penetration. With a second finger sliding inside she felt her breathing quicken and her muscles squeezing against the incredible intrusion.

The sharp nip of teeth against her labia sent a jerk of white-hot pleasure through her and she pulled her head and torso up halfway like the exercises performed by soldiers in Grès Barracks to keep their cores strong and grabbed a handful of Kali’s blonde hair as close to her dark roots as she could reach. She pulled her in deeper to her sex, refusing to allow the mischievous woman to play with her any further, she was ready to finish.

The vibration of Kali moaning something intelligible against her cunt did nothing but encourage Matilde to keep her prisoner between her legs, clutching her head desperately. Her tongue was slipping through Matilde’s juices now, rubbing against her clit with an entirely new feeling of frictionless stroking without pause for breath. A further two fingers forced their way inside of her simultaneously and Matilde growled through gritted teeth, highly aware of Dani resting on the other side of the wall separating their rooms. Kali’s elbow bounced as she thrust her fingers back and forth, filling Matilde with more and more and more shocks of pleasure.

Her end was near and she shoved her free hand into her mouth, her fingers tucked into a fist, and bit her knuckles to muffle her cry as her entire being was filled with ecstasy until it could all but burst through her skin, and then release in a wave of fatigue that washed her clean of desire from head to toe, leaving only the sensation of her own heartbeat between her legs.

It was unclear in Matilde’s clouded mind when she had extricated her hand from Kali’s tresses but her head popped up between Matilde’s knees, eyes shining beneath her smudged kohl liner and gold powder. As usual the young woman looked far too pleased with herself.

“Do you concede already, good knight?” Kali teased with a quiet laugh. She knew damn well Matilde’s struggle to keep her energy after climax, one day she would make it to round two without a nap… one day.

Matilde let out an exhausted breath and dropped her head back to the pillows.


	4. Chapter 4 - Eudora

Eudora

Silver Night Mine sat buried in the side of an enormously steep incline of earth leading into the little mountain often nicknamed ‘Baby Sylvester’ as it is the smallest of ‘The Sylvester Family’, a mountain range that began on the borderline of Celandine’s forest shield, a thirty-acre deep overgrown mass of trees that were a trial even to walk through, let alone ride. Ideally Eudora and her girls would not need to cross the ankle-breaking land to complete their contract, but if upon scouting the mine they found a full-size pack of adult trolls to be residing in the dark tunnels then they would need fresh supplies. They had been given little in the way of specifics upon receiving the contract in terms of troll sizes and numbers.

A warning sign had been hammered into the soft earth outside the wooden door of the mine stating ‘Do not enter, trolls inside’.

“Very inviting.” Magali mused from astride her stunningly pure white mare.

Eudora smiled grimly and pulled on her reins, halting her horse a yard from the entrance and dismounting. Her girls followed suit.

It was early in the morning, the sun having barely crested into sight, they had camped not far from the mine to allow them ample rest, and only Lowri appeared bright and eager to face the beasts on the other side of the wooden door. It showed her farming roots that she was always first to bed and first to rise, having spent her first eighteen years dressing herself in the dark and cold of the pre-dawn morning to be starting her work in the fields as the first rays touched the soil.

The feather-light rain had continued through the night leaving the ground and every plant growing from it soggy. The wet mud clung to their boots, layering over yesterday’s dry and flaking dirt that the girls had not deigned worthy of cleaning given they would be tracking through the same slop the following day.

“Time to find out how bad this infestation is.” Eudora sighed.

They tethered their horses to a trio of nearby trees with plenty of rope to allow them to graze and wander as they pleased.

“Magali and I will scout ahead,” Eudora announced to the group. Magali nodded and pulled her dark plum cloak tighter around her body. “Blaire, you have a sense for trouble, follow us if we are gone too long.”

Blaire smiled knowingly, her light green eyes shining. Lowri bounced on her heels beside her.

Eudora nodded to the pair, turned, and approached the battered wooden door, locked with a heavy metal bolt, “Magali, an invisibility spell, please?”

Magali appeared at her side, “Alteration is not my strongest division but I will hold it as long as I can.” she replied honestly. It wasn’t a necessary comment, Eudora knew perfectly well that their magic-wielding friend had three division specialisms: Illusion, Enchanting and Protection. But being the bright young lady Magali knew she was, she could handle a few other odd spells when necessary.

“That’s all I ask.” Eudora replied with a smile.

The bolt scraped out when pulled with considerable force and Eudora slipped through, keeping the opening as small as possible in order to not allow noticeable light into the dark tunnels. Magali followed, pressed against her back silently, her hands already glowing dimly as she crafted her spell.

The crackling tingle of magic prickled along Eudora's dark skin and she knew she was safe to journey into the mine. Magali pulled the stiff door closed behind them with great care, only a whisper of a creak reaching Eudora's ears.

A sloping tunnel led them deeper inside without any turnings to choose from. They shuffled down the damp, muddy shaft, listening out for the distinctive growls of trolls. Instead they heard only their own shallow breaths and drips of water landing on rocks and puddles until they had crept for many minutes and at least a hundred yards down into the depths of the mine, then the first grunts reached Eudora’s ears.

The tunnel opened up into its first chamber, lit by old, stuttering torches left behind by the miners and filled with trolls.

A full-size pack were settled in the large cavern, three males and two females snuffling and grunting to themselves but seemingly unaggressive. It was the growling and roaring sounds rattling through the tunnels that lead from the circular section that scared Eudora though. They were told they were dealing with a single pack and there had to be at least three that they could hear from their vantage point alone. She knew this mine, it got far deeper then this.

“Bloody hell.” Eudora whispered. She had been prepared for three trolls, maybe four, had planned to trek into Celandine if it was a complete five-member matured-adult pack, but this was unheard of. Trolls didn’t gather in such large groups and were highly territorial, she doubted they were living within the mine peacefully. If she and her girls weren’t being paid rather well to clear it, she would advise the owner to leave them be, let them duke it out amongst themselves first until only one pack remained and then send in sell-swords to pick them off.

But they were being paid, and so they needed to devise a plan.

The pair shared a look of raised brows, gritted teeth and creased foreheads. In perfect synchronisation they retreated backwards, slowly but surely to the wooden door and out into the fresh moist air.

Lowri and Blaire had barely moved a inch in their absence, awaiting their return dutifully.

“You… don’t look well, my friend.” Blaire announced slowly.

“I don’t feel well.” Eudora admitted.

“A full pack?”

“At least three.”

Lowri snorted confidently, “Three trolls? We can handle-”

“Three packs, Lowri.”

Blaire’s eyes widened and she glanced back and forth between Magali and Eudora, searching for a hint of deceit, “I don’t… that’s not…”

“I know.” Eudora sighed.

“This doesn’t feel right.” Magali grumbled, tucking her chin into the bunched material of her cloak where it was held with a large silver brooch.

“Regardless of how it feels we have a contract to uphold.”

“We can’t fight three packs of trolls, Eudora, you know that.” Magali grumbled, her words slightly muffled.

The others gave silent agreement by way of grim expressions. Eudora agreed too but they still needed to find a way to fulfil their contract, it wouldn’t do to gain a reputation as time-wasters taking jobs and not completing them.

“I know, we’re going to need to hire on some additional help.” She decided.

“And how much is that going to cost?” Magali asked sceptically.

Blaire was first to answer, “They can take what they want from the troll corpses, their skin, their meat, their tusks. Plus maybe a silver or two for each.” she offered.

Eudora nodded in agreement and Lowri nodded because Eudora nodded. In a few years she would reason her own decisions but for now Eudora didn’t mind the youngling agreeing with her for the sake of agreement.

She did ask an important question though, “How many people will we need?”

“I haven’t decided yet.” Eudora answered, although she had a minimum bar of two experienced sell-swords set in her mind. Three or four would be ideal but it wouldn’t be wise to hire on so many that their own group became outnumbered. Not that Celandine was likely to have an abundance of mercenaries but you could never be too careful.

Lowri’s black eyes twinkled with excitement, “But this means we get to go to Celandine?” she asked.

“We have no choice.”

They mounted their steeds, one member of their team far more enthusiastic than the others, and approached the first line of dripping and drooping trees that signalled the beginning of Celandine’s forest shield. Gnarled roots could already be seen writhing over the forest floor amongst the ground elder growing unusually high, dotting the ground with explosions of tiny white flowers.

They rode into the forest single-file in order of superiority: Eudora, Blaire, Magali and then Lowri bringing up the rear.

“Is it true the trees in the forest around it grab at you as you walk through?” She called forward.

“Oh yes,” Magali scoffed, “and they are especially well-known for aiming for the poor fool at the back of the pack.”

“Magali, play nice.” Blaire warned softly.

“I’m a scholar not an actress, I don’t know how to play at things I’m not.”

“You are nice.” Blaire insisted, a tad too quickly.

Silence fell over the women.

Eudora blinked in surprise and found herself struggling to physically restrain her head from snapping back to lock eyes with Blaire. She did not believe her friend had intended to speak that compliment aloud but there was little she could do to save her dignity from her place at the head of the pack. Magali did not respond.

The birds, breeze and raindrops took over the responsibility of creating noise for them and they rode on listening to nature.

It was tricky to tell the exact time of day with the thick layers upon layers of branches blocking out the majority of the sun’s light but Eudora could tell a good few hours had passed when her lower back began to ache softly.

Their youngest member called forward yet again, breaking the silence between them and scaring away a pair of birds from a tree above them, “Are we near the town yet?”

Magali answered her question with a fellow question, “Lowri, are you trying to be humorous?”

“Yes?” The young woman answered uncertainly.

“Good, I’d hate to think I was travelling with a moron.”

“We won’t arrive in town until nightfall, Lowri.” Blaire explained gently. Eudora glanced back to catch Magali cut her a look of disdain which she ignored.

It was not for lack of trying that Magali had yet to come to terms with the fact that very few commoners had the luxury of childhood education as she did, both Eudora and Blaire had spoken to her privately about her lack of empathy for those less intelligent than she, but for such a bright young woman this was one theory she could not comprehend. Her reasoning was that she had taught herself many things without the aid of her tutors and her magic-wielding mother, she sought knowledge out of her own volition and she felt others should do the same. It had not been accepted by Magali that in order to develop the very specific type of intelligence she valued, one first needed the ability to read, and this was not something that the common people had the time or patience to teach themselves.

“Oh.” Lowri mumbled from the back of their line.

They continued, largely in silence yet again but for the occasional curse muttered in response to a stumble or the sharp pain of a wild branch catching them across the arm, leg, back or in Lowri’s case, the face.

The journey was tiresome and Eudora, despite her best efforts, found herself becoming more and more irate as their steeds picked their way carefully through the undergrowth. Having a calm disposition, and in turn a steady aim, was the quality she prided herself most on, but on this day she was being truly tested.

It only became more difficult to traverse the uneven ground when the sun began to set, slowly and steadily until Eudora started to fear they may resort to camping mere yards from the town for the sake of keeping their horses legs unbroken. 

When a pair of pin pricks of light appeared through the low-hanging branches, Eudora blew a deep breath out from between tight lips.

“I can see lights!” Lowri called out, her voice full of relief.

“Thank the gods,” Blaire breathed, “we’d have no chance against this death-trap of a forest floor in the dark.”

“You don’t believe in the star gods.” Magali reminded her.

“No, but I am grateful for any hand they had in our safe arrival.”

“Balls of fire don’t have hands.”

“You won’t have hands soon if you continue to be so pedantic.”

“Enough bickering,” Eudora ordered wearily, although she truly wished to say ‘enough flirting’, the pair of them had been irritating her lately with their sexually-charged sniping. “I see an inn, let’s get dry… and a few drinks perhaps.”

“A fine plan.” Blaire agreed.

Magali ‘Mmm’d.

It did not take them long to locate the town’s inn, a large but weather-beaten wooden structure with a stable jutting out of the side, inside there were already a fair few steeds but with plenty of room for their own. They left their horses with a scrawny boy bearing flaky scabs over his arms, tipping him a few coppers for the trouble, and entered the inn, the swinging sign by the door declared it ‘The Silver Hammer’.

Upon entry they were met with the dizzying smell of a hog roast nearing completion and a stifling warmth that filled the main hall, drying their faces almost instantly.

A round woman greeted them politely, her eyes were identical to the stable boy’s.

“Looking for a room or a meal?” She asked gently.

“A meal and some information if you would be so kind?”

“Pay for your meals in advance and my knowledge is yours.” The woman answered with a small smile, her round cheeks lifting and taking years off her features.

Blaire poured twelve coppers into the woman’s curled palm.

“What do you wish to know?”

“Who in this town would be looking to earn some coin as sell-swords?”

“Hmm… Ronald of the Brown family was once an adventurer, he may be convinced to partake if the coin is good enough but he’s not as sprightly as he once was. There are a few young boys at Miss Marlene’s general goods shop, they spend their days lugging around hefty boxes for her so they’re fairly strong but no doubt utterly untrained and without their own armour or weapons.”

“Anyone else?” Eudora asked, hoping her desperation couldn’t be heard in her voice.

“Well, there were three women that arrived earlier this afternoon, dressed like you ladies, they’re staying overnight but didn’t say where they were heading on the morrow. I don’t know them well enough to recommend them but they looked the sort you’re seeking.” She glanced around at the few travellers sat about the main hall, “One of em’s a southerner.” she added with a conspirational whisper.

“We will keep our eyes open for them at dinner.” Blaire replied with a grateful smile.

“Which will be served any moment now, please take any seats you wish at any of the tables by the fire.”

“Thank you.”

The four of them dropped into wooden chairs surrounding a large, splintered table with a variety of grunts and groans, drawing understanding grins from their fellow travellers dotted around the main hall. Often it is not until one allows their body rest that they truly discover how much they needed it, Eudora’s girls were discovering a plethora of aches, pains and fatigued muscles as they sunk into the stiff chairs. They would have greatly appreciated some cushions but as the saying goes, beggars can’t be choosers.

A light laugh drew all four of their glances to the left-hand stairs. Trotting down them at an eager pace was the spear-wielder who rode with Matilde, her tussled blonde hair swinging around her bare shoulders. She wore a thin, cream peasant blouse that began below her collar bone and brown leather riding trousers.

“Three women.” Magali repeated through gritted teeth, “Dressed like us. One of them is a southerner.”

The southerner in question was trailed by Matilde and the shorter woman who had fought with a crossbow the day prior, appearing far less pale than she had when surrounded by ravenous imps. Her topknot bobbed as she plodded down the stairs. Both were clothed in loose shirts and trousers with soft slippers on their feet, clearly not intending to leave any time soon.

“Do we… call them over?” Lowri whispered.

“Absolutely not.” Eudora growled under her breath.

Unfortunately for Eudora, the southerner had already recognised them from across the room.

“What a coincidence!” She called cheerfully, waving at their group with a lazy ease. “Our dear friends from yesterday.”

With the fury of a thousand crows Matilde was glaring into the back of the spear-wielder’s skull, clearly Eudora’s feelings were absolutely mutual for her ex-lover.

The short crossbow wielder held no expression, she simply followed as the spear-wielder sidled towards them without a hint of hesitation.

Once the three of them were within touching distance, Eudora pushed her chair back with the heels of her leather boots, opening their circle to them.

“Good evening,” Blaire greeted with an uneasy smile, “a coincidence indeed.”

“You intend to sup here?” The woman asked.

“Yes!” Lowri blurted excitedly. Eudora wondered if the young woman had ever met a southerner before.

“And to take rest here?”

“Possibly.” Eudora answered, hoping to keep their meeting brief.

“Oh?” The woman’s brows lifted with seemingly innocent curiosity. Eudora couldn’t deny she had a very likeable face, easygoing and relaxed in all of her expressions.

“We are in town in the hopes of hiring a few sell-swords.”

Eudora pursed her lips tightly, struggling to hide her fury at Magali’s loose tongue.

“How exciting! Have you encountered any likely candidates?”

“Not as yet, we intend to fill our stomachs first.”

“A mighty fine plan, may we seat ourselves with you?”

“Of course.” Eudora managed to force the two words from between her gritted teeth with the greatest of efforts.

Matilde met her eyes for but a moment, managing to convey a platitude of emotions to Eudora in that time: apology, irritation, awkwardness and the tiniest hint of nervousness.

The southerner ignored Matilde’s expression and seated herself beside Blaire, “I don’t believe we’ve all been properly introduced,” she added, “my name is Kali and this is Dani and Matilde: our malevolent dictator.”

Matilde nodded to the group and pulled a chair up beside Kali. Dani took the place on her other side, blocking her from being sat directly next to Eudora.

“Blaire.” Blaire replied, shaking Kali’s hands firmly with her own and then gesturing around the table, “Magali, Eudora, our leader, and Lowri, our youngest sword-sister.”

Lowri grinned happily at her introduction.

Kali leant her elbows on the table, “So, tell me my good friends, for what do you require these sell-swords?” she enquired with a wild smile.

“Silver Night Mine.” Eudora answered crisply.

“You need miners?”

“It’s filled with trolls,” Blaire explained, “more than one pack.”

“Packs of trolls don’t cohabitate.”Matilde stated, her brows raised in question. Something about her response pricked at Eudora’s patience.

“We know but it’s true,” Eudora said sharply, her irritation tingeing her voice far more than she had intended, “Magali and I saw it ourselves.”

“We know it is not typical and we aren’t naive enough to believe this is a natural anomaly,” Magali added snootily, “something is amiss and we intend to discover what.”

“Ooh, sounds fascinating!” Kali announced with complete sincerity, “Would the three of us suit your needs?”

“Kali.” Matilde growled warningly.

The southerner ignored her, “We’re working on a boring contract with a far-off completion date, this sounds far more entertaining!”

“It sounds crooked.”

“You don’t trust us, Titi?” Blaire asked coolly, her tone far below its usual soothing sound.

“I don’t trust a mine containing more than one troll pack, I’ve never heard anything like it. And why would you return to such a mine? If there is truly more than one pack inside they will no doubt rip each other tusk from snout eventually if left to their own devices - why bother them? They will do your work for you.”

“You have been working the mercenary trade for too many years for you to be unaware of the time constraints that would be put on a contract such as this,” Eudora answered as calmly as her pounding heart would allow, it filled her body with a strange buzzing to be speaking down to Matilde in this way, she was very almost trembling. Matilde had always stood ahead of her, lead her and taught her. But now they were equals. Theoretically Eudora understood this, instinctively she struggled. “we have an irate mine owner eagerly awaiting our signal that he can return his workers and their pickaxes to their rightful place down a damp tunnel generating him piles and piles of coin.”

“And how many piles of coin are you risking your life for?” Matilde asked quietly.

“Six gold coins.”

“Split four ways that’s seventy-five silvers each!” Kali blurted with a fiendishly greedy grin.

“Split seven ways it’s just over forty.” Magali added, her eyes roaming over their three table-guests with a single neat black eyebrow raised by a gnat’s height.

“And you would split your earnings between us all equally?” Matilde asked delicately.

There was a pause as Eudora gathered nods of approval from each of her girls. They were unanimous on their decision to split equally. Better three skilled mercenaries they had history with than Ronald the elder and some cart-lugging boys, if you wanted a job doing well you had to pay for it. Better they keep both their golden reputation and their lives in tact than hoard their earnings.

“Of course.” Eudora finally answered.

“I’m in!” Kali announced with a wild grin.

Dani nodded silently in Eudora’s direction.

Kali translated, “Dani’s in too!”

Matilde sighed wearily, “I suppose we do have plenty of time before we must return with the bear pelts.” she admitted begrudgingly.

“Forty silvers.” Kali reminded her.

“It would mean having to travel back through those damn woods sooner than we planned though.”

“Forty silvers.” Kali sang into Matilde’s ear, lifting her bottom from her seat in order to get closer to her leader.

“It will be incredibly dangerous.”

“Forty. Silvers.” Kali repeated, her slim face pressed against Matilde’s round one. Her dyed blonde hair mingling with Matilde’s naturally blonde waves.

“Fine.” Matilde growled, drawing out the ‘n’ sound longer than was quite necessary.

Kali beamed with triumph and dropped back into her own seat, “Well then, I suppose all that’s left for us to do is sup and sleep! A long and boring ride on the morrow, lasses.”

Every woman was wolfing her food like a starved animal, their long rides having apparently drained their energy straight through their stomachs. Even Magali had dropped her lady-like manners in favour of stuffing her small mouth with roasted vegetables and bread. Lowri’s eyes were too large for her belly, leaving her in a drowsy and queasy state when she eventually admitted defeat against the stacks of sliced meat she had adorned her plate with.

When every woman had taken her fill they slouched in their seats for a few minutes, allowing their bodies a tiny respite in order to deal with the shock of being filled to bursting point.

“I suppose we are staying here tonight then.” Blaire announced as she cleaned her hands with a rough cloth.

“I will ask the innkeeper about her rooms.” Eudora offered, drowsiness clouding her head from her filled stomach, and excused herself from their table sluggishly.

The woman perched behind the large worn counter at the entrance of the inn informed her she had but two rooms remaining unfilled and therefore the women would have to partner up if they wished to stay the night.

Eudora returned to their table once she had paid and took Lowri by the scruff of her neck, “You’re with me, young’un.” she announced firmly.


	5. Chapter 5 - Kali

Kali

Kali could feel round young eyes upon her.

She twisted her slim neck just enough to peer between the trees at Eudora’s girls plodding through the undergrowth gingerly. They rode a mere metre apart from Matilde’s in a single-file line. The excitable one (Kali had lost her name among so many new faces) was watching her, doing a terrible job of pretending she wasn’t. There was not a chance that the girl was out of her teen years, the mace strapped to her side could easily be older than she.

“Is there something you would like to ask me, child?” Kali called through the soggy, low-hanging branches.

The girl started, jumping a little in her saddle and earning a huff from her horse. She looked away, then back to Kali with a sheepish expression that regressed the age upon her dark skin even further.

“Y-you’re from the South, aren’t you?”

“That’s not a question.” Kali replied with a half-grin.

At least she knew now what to expect next, many were curious of the south, it is not a region that travellers tend to choose for a wander. Not that the south isn’t hospitable but with their positioning on a jagged stretch of land that was oft nicknamed ‘Elatior’s Dagger’, it doesn’t have many entrances for foreigners to approach from. The North, East and West all have long borders pressed against each other, the southern region of Elatior has Tilli fields, acres upon acres of crops and flowers creating the colourful quillion of Elatior’s dagger.

She had no doubt this young maid was moments from asking her one of the three core questions she was inevitably bombarded with every time she found herself in the company of a northerner who had never left their minute village, ‘Do all southerners worship the star gods?’, ‘Do all southerners swing-ride?’ , or ‘Is it true that southerners eat nothing but fish for every meal?’. She prepared her answers for all three in her head just in case.

“Do all southerners…” The girl began nervously, “do they have eyes like yours?”

“Lowri!” The curvy one, Blaire, gasped with utter horror. Kali was not ashamed to admit, at least within her own head, that she had only remembered her name because of her thick thighs and bouncing breasts.

Not that that’s what she should have been thinking about at that moment, having been utterly flummoxed by Lowri’s question. The kid had actually managed to catch Kali off guard, for the first time in her adult life she struggled for words.

“I-I’m sorry!” Lowri cried, Blaire’s reaction having apparently put the fear of the gods into her, “I didn’t mean to offend!”

“I.. well…” Kali laughed at her own stammering awkwardly, “I suppose the short answer is no.”

“I really am so sorry, I’ve never met anyone from the south…” The girl rambled, her eyes darting from Kali’s to Blaire’s, “I mean, I’ve seen them but never… I’ve never had the chance to ask anything or learn from… I…”

Kali took Lowri’s babbling as a welcome few seconds to compose herself before cutting her off, “It’s fine, child, truly. You surprised me is all.” she assured her. After a moment’s pause she realised she still hadn’t truly answered the question, “The south does hold a large community of my people but monolids are not a requirement to live in the dagger of Elatior.” she added with a small smile.

It would be a lie to state that the question had not left her feeling awkward but she would not let the child know, it was not her fault she was uneducated and Kali believed she was genuinely curious. The round-eyed girl did not look capable of spite.

And yet she managed to find another question, “Do they have people like me there?” she asked quietly.

Blaire was staring at her with an incredulous expression, as mothers do to their children when they can’t quite believe how foolishly they are behaving. It would have been amusing if Kali didn’t feel so awkward, an emotion she was not familiar with whatsoever.

Kali considered her answer, something she was not known to do before opening her mouth, “There are people of every race there, only in far smaller proportions to the rest of the kingdom.”she said.

In truth, there are incredibly few people of naturally dark skin like Lowri and Eudora in the south, they don’t seek out the sunny coasts like the pale people do. The dagger is the perfect place to gain colour, scorching sun combined with blustering breezes allowing for hours of sunbathing on the sandy coastline without discomfort. And there is nothing that the citizens of Elatior prize higher than dark skin.

“I truly hope I haven’t offended you.” The girl said sincerely.

“You haven’t.”

“I think your eyes are beautiful.”

Kali snorted before responding, “Thank you, so do I.” with complete sincerity. After all, she considered her eyes to be one of her best features, especially when decorated with kohl and her prized golden paint, only traders in the south carried it among their wares making her tiny tin pot rather rare out in the northern regions.

Northerners do not decorate their faces aside from occasional pink or red lip paint which they could double as a weak blush powder, Kali often wondered if it was due to the inclement weather, after all, it could become rather costly to apply a full face of powders and creams only for the rain and cold to smudge and crack your delicately crafted art. In Mesial she had seen a few familiar faces sporting bright colours and intricate designs but they were all originally of the south, their northern peers had their noses trapped in their books so deeply they simply couldn’t find the time to pretty themselves.

She could feel Blaire’s eyes upon her now, light green with long lashes, the woman was flushed and giving her a painfully apologetic look. Kali raised her hand with a smile in an attempt to put her at ease but the woman simply dipped her head.

As if this trek was not to be long and arduous enough.

The rain was hammering at the thick canopy of branches above now, picking up force as they rode until it finally began to break through in bursts of random spray, occasionally catching the rump of a horse or the crown of a woman’s head.

Upon catching sight of the open world on the other side of the last ring of trees they bunched together as close as their steeds and the wild woodland would allow to survey the onslaught of water pounding the ground ahead of them. The noise alone drowned out the sounds that had accompanied them for the majority of their journey: birds hooting and tweeting, rustling leaves, splintering twigs and the varied grunts and growls of small furry creatures roaming amongst the writhing roots.

“We’ll need to-” Eudora paused with a disgruntled expression as she realised her voice was being overpowered by the rain. She made a second attempt, far louder this time, “We will need to leave our horses in the forest, there is no shelter sturdy enough out there.” her voice was straining as she pushed it louder and louder with each word.

“Agreed!” Matilde yelled.

They tethered their horses with as much rope as they had available, they couldn’t say for certainty how long they would be gone and if they didn’t return they needed to know their steeds could get food and water until they were discovered by whichever travellers visited Celandine next. Kali snuck a small carrot into her mare’s mouth and gave her cream mane an affectionate ruffle, she is a damn fine horse and Kali doubted any northerner would appreciate just how incredible she is if she were to die in that mouldy mine.

“I’ll be back, Merry.” She whispered. Merry gave her ear a forceful lick and nuzzled her neck.

They left their horses behind and crossed the boundary line out into the beating rain. If Kali didn’t have her core strength built on years of swing-riding she may have stumbled under the sheer weight of the water falling upon them in unrelenting sheets. Magali’s cloak-covered head was knocked forward a few inches at the first impact but she recovered quickly, pulling herself up straight with a grimace. The clamour of the rain covered Kali’s snorting laughter but Matilde still gave her a look of warning. Could she not tell that Kali had been clawing back her natural personality for a day and a night? She was doing her utmost best to behave herself. Gods forbid she would embarrass Matilde in front of her past lover. Eudora was nothing less than perfection in Matilde’s eyes, Kali didn’t need to hear her say it, she could see it in her face clear as a southern morning sky.

She flicked that cloud of noxious thought from her mind, clearing her head with a deep breath, and followed the pack towards the mountain range that towered ahead.

Silver Night Mine was far less grand than Kali had assumed from it’s name. It appeared to be no more than a battered wooden door wedged into the front of a rather stunted mountain, the smallest of the range they had marched to. Outside lay an assortment of carts and rubble and a sign warning away the nosey and the foolish, not that it could be easily read what with the waterfall coating every item without shelter in a constant splattering.

“Is this it?” She asked of Blaire, who had fallen back in pace to stride beside her. Finding herself almost shouting into the woman’s ear.

“It may not look so impressive from the outside but Silver Night Mine is a beast in and of itself.” Blaire yelled back, “Long tunnels, winding paths and endless darkness.”

“Delightful!” Kali cried.

Through the pelting rain she almost thought she spied an amused smirk on Blaire’s sun-kissed face.

“Let’s get inside, I’d rather face trolls than any more rain.” Matilde announced, leading them through the soggy old door.

Even through the rain Kali could tell that Eudora and Blaire were most unimpressed with Matilde attempting (and for now succeeding) to take charge of their mismatched group. They shared sour expressions and followed Matilde into the dark mine. Magali tailed them closely, her pretty plum-coloured cloak hanging heavy on her shoulders with all the water it had soaked up - that was the problem with those fancy materials, the ones that cost more gold than a good sword, they weren’t very practical.

The young one hesitated at the entrance, stepping back to allow Kali to enter ahead of her, perhaps as a sign of respect but Kali didn’t care to ask, she grabbed the kid by the scruff of her neck and shoved her inside the cramped tunnel. For a young woman who did not have the gift of height, the kid was bulky and Kali was surprised at the strength required to manhandle her.

She pulled the door shut behind them with a squelching sound and a small wave of sloppy mud rode in with the force but she dodged it just in time to save her leather boots. The percussion of the rain wasn’t greatly dimmed by the closed door but she would rather hear it than feel it any more.

Only Kali and Matilde were forced to curve their backs slightly due to the low ceiling; Magali, Blaire and Eudora had only to avoid bumps and dips of rock from above; Dani and the kid were without worry aside from their hair, Dani lowered her topknot, tying it at the back of her neck, and the young’un made an attempt to flatten her budding frohawk with damp hands. The sharp tip of Selenia strapped to Kali’s back caught the rocky ceiling with a quiet but toe-curling screech that had her dropping a further few inches and sliding her prized spear from its holster, letting it hang low in an easy and experienced grip.

They crept forward together, gaining their bearings, allowing their eyes to adjust to the din and feeling the moisture drip from their armour. When Eudora paused and raised her hand for them to follow suit the magic wielder’s hands began to emanate a dull light from beneath her milk-white skin that had Matilde peering at her suspiciously.

“Magali specialises in protection magic.” Blaire whispered in explanation.

“You’re each getting a physical shield.” The mage mumbled, concentrating on her illuminated hands, cupping and bouncing them, moulding an invisible clay. “And dry clothes.”

Kali felt her shield skim over her skin like bubbles along a stream at the seat of a waterfall. It wasn’t unpleasant but it was also not what she remembered her sister’s magic feeling like when it touched her, Veda’s magic was warm, sometimes uncomfortably so.

“As we agreed in the forest, Dani and I will each take a side at the opening into the main chamber and take the first shots,” Eudora reminded them in her incredibly soft voice, “once the trolls start charging Matilde will lead Kali and Lowri to confront them head-on. Magali will continue to cast spells of protection.”

The group nodded their understanding and observed Magali’s crafting as only non-magic-wielders do: in awe and confusion.

“You got any healing magic?” Matilde asked quietly.

Magali released another shield and Kali noticed Dani shiver just a little before the mage answered, “One very basic spell but it can’t help with anything more severe than a grazed elbow.”

“I don’t intend to injure myself beyond a grazed elbow, anyway!” Kali muttered as cheerfully as she could.

“I specialise in three divisions, I won’t apologise for not being proficient in a fourth.” Magali huffed, finishing up her last shield with a flick of her fingers.

Kali’s sister specialised in three divisions as well, an impressive feat accomplished by so few magic wielders. Kali did not stroke Magali’s ego though, she got the impression this pale lady was more than aware of her own intelligence.

Now all coated in a thin magical barrier, they followed the dark tunnel to the main chamber where grunts and growls echoed off the damp walls. The odour of wet fur and stale blood was irritating both Kali’s nose and her stomach.

Once the tusked creatures were within their sight they simultaneously crouched lower, shuffling to the edge of the tunnel with extreme caution. Dani squatted behind a slick boulder, lining up her crossbow and Eudora knelt with her knee against a jut in the wall to steady herself and readied her bow which was almost too large for the cramped passage.

It was only the first cavern and yet a full pack of matured trolls roamed the dark and dirty room, snuffling and grunting to each other. Whether it was nerves or excitement bubbling in Kali’s stomach she didn’t care, she was ready either way to take tusks as trophies.

She brought Selenia to her waist and adjusted her grip, rubbing her thumb into one of the many grooves that lined the spear’s shaft in the shapes of stars in a variety of sizes and styles. She may not keep all of the old traditions of the star gods but she had promised her mother when she left the dagger that she would keep their presence close.

An arrow and a steel-tipped bolt launched in perfect unison and Kali gave her hips a smooth swing from left to right, an unnecessary warm-up before the hairy brutes charged.


	6. Chapter 6 - Blaire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the appreciation to the amazing rebelrsr for their super beta reading skills! Thank you thank you thank you!

Blaire

Strange was an understatement for how Blaire felt following Matilde into battle after almost three years apart. They had been shield-sisters once; she had trusted her with her own life and would have fought to the death for Matilde’s. In one night, with one final row that had awoken even the deepest of sleepers within their band of warriors, they had been split into two parties.

Blaire had chosen to follow Eudora, and she had never once regretted her decision. It was clear in Matilde’s expression at the time how hurt she was, but she refused to speak of it as they packed their supplies and left, maybe that had been for the best. She had ridden by Matilde’s side before they picked Dora up in that wee western village; there was none among this band of women she had known longer than the brassy blonde. Perhaps Blaire had been glad she had never been confronted by Matilde for her decision. Perhaps she feared being labelled fickle or disloyal.

Eudora and Dani had struck down two of the trolls with arrows straight through their thick skulls before they had a chance to turn and engage. The other three were instantly alerted to their presence as their pack members crumpled to the damp earth in furry tangles of limbs.

Matilde charged ahead, never content with being anything less than the leader of the pack. Despite the years of separation, Blaire still felt an easy confidence fighting alongside her. She didn’t doubt Matilde was just as capable a warrior as she had been then. Back when she would call out “Fair Blaire” upon spotting her, usually accompanied by a teasing smile. Blaire didn’t mind; she liked the friendly phrase. From what she’d observed though, Matilde hadn’t smiled once since they crossed each other in the imp-ridden fields.

A troll head-butted Blaire’s shield, ripping her back to the present and sending a tremor through her legs as she fought to stay upright. She sliced down her sword in a tight arc to take a chunk of the beast’s shoulder off in a splattering of blood and bristles.

With a long-limbed leap, Kali burst past her with a wild grin, her spear lifted high and her blonde locks flying behind her. They had only travelled together for a day and yet Blaire already found the southerner’s cheerful attitude infectious. It helped that she was rather enjoyable to gaze upon.

But a battle with trolls was not something to be excited about. It was a serious matter.

Lowri slammed her mace down upon the head of the troll attempting to gnaw its way through Blaire’s shield, leaving its skull concave as it fell to the ground. If it wasn’t dead already, it would be soon enough with a brain injury like that. She nodded her thanks and they left the creature behind them to find another to aid. Fortunately, they weren’t needed. Matilde wasn’t the only proficient warrior. Kali had sliced her foe to ribbons before it could so much as graze her, grin still held firm on her slim face.

It unnerved Blaire that their first battle had been ended so easily. She sheathed her sword slowly and slipped her shield smoothly onto her back.

“Am I alone in thinking that was worryingly undemanding?” Magali muttered into her ear, standing at her shoulder, a few inches taller.

Blaire didn’t look at her but mumbled her reply in her direction, “I was not aware you had mastered a spell to read minds.”

Her frown was not cracked by Blaire’s teasing comment.

Blaire sighed softly at Magali’s unyielding attitude and added, "Remember, we are more in number now. The more even the odds, the quicker the fight," despite her own concerns, Blaire's first instinct was to comfort.

Magali was not soothed, “Have you not considered that we are being led deeper deliberately?” she breathed, her voice barely audible.“That this first pack was intentionally weak?”

“We have to follow every tunnel to the end to complete the contract; there would be nothing to gain from driving us down a route we would be taking regardless,” Blaire offered as gently as she could.

Magali huffed but said no more, following Eudora to check the cavern for any additional threats.

Blaire would be lying if she claimed that Magali’s words hadn’t unsettled her further. It wasn’t her girlish crush that guided her to believe in Magali’s intelligence, her wisdom had saved their lives before and it wouldn’t bode well to disregard her concerns. Matilde wouldn’t stand for that though; when she started something, she finished it. No retreats; no surrenders. When she died it would certainly be a result of her own stubbornness, probably atop a hill swinging her sword with her jaw set stiffly and her hazel eyes shining with fury.

And so, Blaire kept her mouth shut for the moment.

After a tentative listen at the entrances of the three tunnels leading from the chamber for trolls waiting in the wings, they regrouped at the foot of the slope leading back to the outside world to devise the next stage of their quest.

“That was too easy,” Magali announced, her folding arms knocking back her plum-coloured cloak to her elbows.

“I agree,” Matilde replied, much to Blaire’s shock - until she continued, “in fact I do not think we need to stay together as a group of seven when there are multiple choices leading out of here.”

Magali gave Blaire a frustrated look, urging her to voice their concerns.

Kali jumped in first, “We would clear more options if we were to split apart,” she added.

With a quick look, Eudora requested Blaire’s input. She did not need to say anything; Blaire was used to being called upon to be a voice of reason. Fair Blaire…

“I don’t know if that is the wisest choice,” Blaire advised slowly, choosing her words as carefully as she could with Eudora, Magali and Matilde’s expectant eyes upon her. “we brought Matilde and her girls with us because we knew we needed extra help.”

Matilde was quick to brush her words aside. “There will not be more than a single pack to fight at any one time. They must have each taken their own territory; they have clearly been here for a while,” she said impatiently.

Eudora scrunched her face and tilted her head back and forth as though stretching her neck, the silvers beads and rings strung in her waist-length braids rattled at the movement.“It does seem they have started nesting,” she admitted quietly.

“But again,” Magali said with a sharp expression, the exact one she took when she felt she was speaking to someone with very little flesh resting inside their skulls, “is this not exactly the situation we were looking to avoid?”

“We will regularly rendezvous,” Matilde stated dismissively.

“And how do you propose we divide ourselves?” Eudora asked; although her back was straight and her intelligent eyes alight, finding a balance between open and yet leading. She could take on the ideas and opinions of others, but she was still the head of this expedition, that was what her stance announced to the room. “There are three entrances to choose from, after all.”

Dribbles of watery mud were running down the incline they had crept down to arrive in the main chamber and were creating puddles by their feet. Dani broke her blank mask of an expression to pull her brows together at the sight, catching Blaire’s attention.

“Something wrong?” Blaire whispered as the short woman was stood directly at her side.

Dani schooled her face and shook her head slowly.

The others glanced over as well and as a group they silently shuffled further away from the drooling tunnel and surveyed the three ahead.

“I vote that we divide ourselves by height,” Kali announced. “Matilde and I are the tallest so we should be together; Dani and the youngling are the smallest so they can take the tunnel with the lowest ceiling.”

“I would prefer that Lowri was paired with either myself or Blaire,” Eudora countered. “she is still rather inexperienced.”

“Fine, we divide by hair colour. Matilde and I are both blonde-”

Matilde intercepted her with an expression of exasperation.“My blonde hair grows out of my head, you use that poisonous sludge of yours to-”

If they were lovers (as Blaire suspected), it seemed a fairly one-sided affair. Matilde as stoic and frosty as ever, and Kali shouldering the effort of showing affection. Blaire knew from experience that Matilde could be warm and doting if she truly wanted - she had been quite the lovesick fool for a short while when she and Eudora first became lovers. It seemed her old friend had not deemed the little southerner worthy of her public affection.

The slim woman was unperturbed by Matilde’s interruption and simply continued her announcement over her words, “…and the rest of you have either black or brown hair so you may group as you wish.” She flapped her hand at the group to signal them to finish the job she had begun.

“Dora, you take Lowri,” Blaire offered. She knew deep down Eudora would not be able to rid her mind of thoughts of Lowri if they were separated. Magali and Dani would struggle without a melee fighter and Blaire was happy to be grouped with them. From what she had seen so far Dani was deadly silent at all times and there was no reason she could not be amicable with someone who never spoke. Magali she was always happy to be near, whether that was aiding or hindering her progress in pushing past the attraction that had been building inside of her was yet undetermined… But she was almost certain that Dora was growing aware of her feelings, even if Magali wasn’t. “Magali, Dani and I will take the middle tunnel.”

“Thank you, Blaire,” Eudora said, pulling Lowri close by the crook of her elbow.

Magali walked to Blaire’s side with a nod and Dani stared at them blankly. Blaire understood this to be a lack of rejection, and, therefore, theoretically it was agreement. When her eyes flickered to the entrance to the cavern again Blaire’s stomach filled with an acidic burn. She followed her gaze to where a steady stream of murky water was widening the puddles between them and their exit into small pools.

“Should we be concerned that the water is getting in?” Questioned Kali, apparently voicing Dani’s thoughts on her behalf.

“We cleared this mine in the rain previously,” Eudora reassured them in her dependable, calm manner. “we will be fine.”

“Back to the task at hand.” Said Matilde, taking control once again, “How long should each group spend delving into their tunnel before we return together? I’m assuming we are all in agreement that this is the best area to meet back in?”

The women nodded in unison, Lowri slightly less certainly and Eudora with pinched lips.

Matilde took no notice of Eudora’s expression and continued. “‘Sooner rather than later’ has always been a phrase that has served me well, I believe we should return-”

The wet and splintering sound of wood caving to the pressure against it echoed through the cavern.

Lowri blinked her child-like round eyes and began the question upon all of their tongues. “Was that-”

“The door!” Eudora cried.

The thunder of a colossal onslaught of mud and earth sliding down the narrow tunnel hit them ahead of the arrival of the brown beast.

“Mud slide!” Matilde roared, although the announcement was rather redundant as the wave of mud broke into the room at a horrifying speed.

They scurried backwards, stumbling in their haste as the mud seemed to chase them, dividing them in its race to fill the room with thick sludge.

Blaire flung her head to the side, searching for her team. Eudora had Lowri by the arm still; she gave Blaire a fearful look before dragging the girl into the passageway behind them, followed closely by Matilde and then by the now waist-high mud.

It was almost upon her and yet she could not move, frozen in place with fear. Fear for herself, for her friends… A hand yanked her back by the plaits, very nearly toppling her to her backside with the urgency, and lead her stumbling backwards into the only tunnel that had not yet been clogged by the mud slide.


	7. Chapter 7 - Magali

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Rebelrsr - the best beta in the world!

Magali

When you are a proficient magic wielder and as well versed in the world around you as Magali, you don’t often have need to feel afraid. Most fear stems from lack of knowledge - that is what her mother had told her.

There was nothing she could have read in a book that would have prepared her for the mud slide.

She would not admit aloud that it had shaken her, near paralysing her with fear. When you faced a bandit or a beast, you could fight it. It could be slain. When injured or sick you could be healed. When a tidal wave of mud approached at the speed of a galloping horse and you have but one exit to run through (one that leads to an eventual dead-end where you will either be crushed by mud, suffocated or starved, that is, if you are not eaten by trolls before you get there…) well, you ran anyway. If you were given the option to die now or in an hour’s time, even a fool would beg for every extra second. There was so much she still had to learn; books she had not read, places she had not seen, experiences she had not had…

Such as the experience of being trapped in a dank, muddy tunnel with a woman who does not speak.

They had stopped running once the mud had slid to a halt, completely concealing the entrance and entrenching them in darkness. For the first few minutes, Magali had thought herself alone. The short woman so silent she had not known she was there without light to see.

When she focused her energies on a weak light spell, unfamiliar to her hands as it was learnt in her infancy as a training spell, she was almost sent into cardiac arrest to find the crossbow-wielding woman stood beside her. She was relatively sure her name was Dani… But both of Matilde’s goons had such similar names…

“Are you mute by choice, or have you been afflicted with an illness?” she snapped with a racing heart and a slight tremble to her glowing hands.

The woman stared at her for a few moments before parting her lips ever so slightly, barely enough to fit the word through. “Choice,” she answered with a rasping voice.

“And the reason for that is?”

The woman shrugged, and Magali felt her temper rising through her, heating her cheeks and hairline.

“There must be a reason. Everything has a reason and an explanation.”

The woman shrugged again; although, this time there was the slightest twinkle of amusement in her eyes.

“You are intentionally irritating me,” Magali deduced.

“You are easily irritated,” Said Dani.

“Goodness, was that an entire sentence?”

Dani ignored her, it did nothing to cool Magali’s temper.

She attempted to weigh up her options but quickly realised she didn’t have any. They had a wall of sludge behind them and a corridor leading away. Unless she intended to sit and starve, it would be wise to begin exploring. The worst case scenario would be starving while she walked instead of sat, so she really had nothing to lose by moving forward.

“Fine,” she huffed. “we only have one direction we can head in. Let’s walk.”

Apparently, Dani agreed; although she didn’t say as much as she started down the dank tunnel at a brisk pace.

Magali kept a foot behind her as they made their way steadily downhill; every metre of the tunnel as plain and unremarkable as the last, lit only by the glow of Magali’s palms, held aloft and pointed ahead. A pair of mismatched shadows lead them, one taller and slender with flared clothing; the other short and stout with the points of a bundle of bolts sprouting from its shoulder.

It had been a slight shock, standing beside Matilde’s group in the entranceway, Magali had not realised just how tall the two blonde women were until she was peering up at them from close by. She was used to being tied for tallest group member with Eudora. She wondered how it must feel from Dani’s height…

They trudged in silence until Magali’s feet began to ache, her heels protesting against the slight downward slope to the ground that was no doubt leading them deeper inside of the mine. That could not be a good omen even at such a small degree, she would definitely prefer to be heading upwards. Preferably straight to the surface and out into the drenching rain. She would give just about anything to meet with that horrendous downpour again.

Magali was not a fan of inclement weather; she had been raised in Mesial and rarely had to deal with such inconveniences as heavy rain or hail in her youth. Now, as an adult, she found herself horridly unprepared to be travelling about the Western region of Elatior, known almost solely for its wet and sludgy weather… It could be worse, she supposed. Eudora could have dragged them up North where legend had it they hadn’t seen a day without torrential rain in decades. At least the West had bursts of sunshine mingled with its showers. Sometimes they were even fortunate enough to glimpse a rainbow.

She attempted, after some time, to start a conversation with her still-silent companion, commenting “I didn’t see anyone get caught in the slide, did you?” as she stepped in line beside her, watching her expression for changes.

Dani shook her head no. Her face remained as smooth as a stone.

“I hope everyone is safe,” Magali whispered. She immediately regretted saying it; it was a redundant statement, and Dani clearly didn’t care for idle chatter.

Usually Magali could respect someone who did not feel the need to speak unnecessarily. It was a mark of forethought and a no-nonsense attitude, but she could feel her lingering anxiety from the mud slide causing her to be irritable.

It did not help that she was struggling to maintain a spell that fell outside of her specialist divisions. It was a child’s spell, and she should be able to wield it easily. However, it had been many moons since she attempted any spells that were not of her regular repertoire. It was not humanly possible to master a fourth division, and therefore she had abandoned all study of those outside of her three once she began to specialise. Now she walked, struggling to contain a pair of puny lights to her hands. Frustration bubbled in her stomach, rising to her chest.

Shockingly, Dani mumbled an agreement. Magali couldn’t be sure of her exact words, but she thought she had heard “as do I.” She had been too lost in her thoughts to know for certain.

Silence consumed them for another long period. Magali fell back a step again.

It was not that Magali was a nattering woman by nature. She simply needed something to keep her occupied. She was very capable of spending entire days in silence with the right book balanced on her lap or an advanced spell to practice; anything that would require concentration and halt mind-wandering. Mind-wandering was for simpletons, her mother had told her so. And her mind-wandering had cost her what had almost been a genuine verbal exchange. If she had been paying attention, she would have heard Dani’s soft words.

Eventually, Magali felt she simply had to speak, or she would lose her mind, her favourite attribute.

“What is that shaved into the back of your head?” She asked, referring to the geometric design etched into the shorter woman’s black hair beneath her highly balanced bun. Magali wondered why she couldn’t decide on one hairstyle and instead had to combine two together. And how she could have possibly instructed another human being to cut it for her with such intricacy without using more than three words?

Dani seemed to actually consider the question for a few moments before answering, much to Magali’s shock. “Flower,” she grunted.

“It is a rather strange flower. What species is it supposed to be?”

Dani shrugged, easily cutting their incredibly brief conversation off.

This was bordering on torture. Magali needed her brain stimulated; her focus removed from the ache in the soles of her feet, the fatigue in her hands and forearms from holding this unfamiliar spell for so long, from her rambling thoughts. She needed distraction from the dull thuds of two pairs of feet plodding on hard earth.

It was not often that she wished for the pointless nattering of her group members, for Lowri’s incessant questions, for Eudora’s soothing voice providing them with updates on landmarks passed and their journey timings, for Blaire’s massively exaggerated stories.

Blaire would entertain her in this dingy, claustrophobic tunnel. Blaire would tell a magnificent story of riches and battles and heroic women. Despite Magali’s lack of interest in the fiction section of Mesial’s library, she could admit, at least to herself, that she enjoyed Blaire’s fictional fantasies. Of course, she would claim all of her tales were rooted in truth, but they often very quickly grew and branched out into the fantastical and wild.

“I am growing weary of holding this spell,” she admitted with a sigh, bending her fingers slowly and testing their strength before adding, “It is not of my specialised divisions.” An unneeded explanation.

Dani, predictably, did not respond. Instead she stopped in her tracks, glanced at her, then rifled through the leather satchel strapped to her back. Magali could have sworn she saw a sudden glint of glass or gemstones shifting among Dani’s belongings out of the corner of her eye but decided not to ask. She wouldn’t receive an answer anyway.

With little flourish, Dani pulled out a pair of small rectangles and an arms-length torch, clearly home-made. Magali suddenly recognised the rectangular items as flint and steel.

The frustration in her stomach and chest rose to her tongue in a tidal wave.

“You had those the entire time and didn’t say anything?” she screeched, her high-pitched voice bouncing off the closely compacted walls.

“I cook,” Was all Dani offered in explanation. It did not soothe Magali’s anger.

“It’s a relief to hear you are capable of doing something,” she seethed through gritted teeth.

Dani ignored her, lit her half-sized torch and continued walking as though nothing had occurred.

Magali followed in silent fury.

It took many steps for her anger to drain with the pull of fatigue, her body and mind too exhausted to hold onto her annoyance any longer. Her energy needed to be conserved for walking, so much walking.

The light from Dani’s flame flickered far more than Magali’s spell had, but she was grateful for the rest of her mana reserve nonetheless. While her body was losing energy like a leaky barrel full of water, at least her supply of magic was slowly replenishing.

How much time had passed when the cramped passageway unfurled into an enormous cavern was unclear, but Magali was too overrun with relief to care - there were no trolls in sight and the pair finally had a little breathing room. Dani paused in the entrance while Magali strode in to appraise the room.

It was easily ten times the size of the one which they had been run out of by the mud slide and housed a wide pool of rippling water. Light shone in from a small circular hole in the high ceiling directly above the water. Rain raced through the air to meet the water below, creating tremors of dancing light upon the surface. The clinging scent of wet mud may have permeated every inch of the cavern and its nooks and crannies, but there were wafts of fresh air blowing in from above, and Magali dragged in a long breath through her nose.

Far more exciting, though, were the four other exits leading out of the oversized room. Magali was certain at least one must be able to connect them to their respective groups. It lit the first flame of true hope she had felt in hours.


	8. Chapter 8 - Kali

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you Rebelrsr for beta-reading! <3

Kali

“You saved my life,” Blaire gasped once they had ceased pounding the slightly slippery ground with their booted feet.

The wall of sludge had slowed to a halt some metres back, but Kali continued to run blind through the darkness, tracing the tunnel with her fingertips until she _knew_ she was not about to be eaten whole by the mud monster, until the rumble of its approach had softened to silence.

Once they had halted, Kali ran her hands along the damp walls higher and more thoroughly than she had done as she ran until she found a slightly rusted brazier and tugged the dead torch free from it. It took a couple of attempts to light it but once the flame took it filled the cramped space with stuttering light.

“I gave your hair a tug,” She laughed in reply to Blaire’s breathless words. “It wasn’t exactly a dashing rescue. I simply noticed you were not moving.” She barely managed to restrain herself from adding a comment about wanting to pull on Blaire’s plaits again, preferably with her face between Kali’s legs. Gods, she loved women with curves.

“And I don’t know if I would have if you hadn’t grabbed me, so thank you,” Blaire said sincerely.

With another light laugh Kali made a second attempt to brush away the gratitude, “It was genuinely nothing.”

Before Blaire could disagree, Kali threw her arm out reflexively, smacking Blaire’s breasts but managing to still her all the same. She kept her arm up as she listened. She was sure she had heard something further into the dim tunnel and her nose was dragging in a distant odour of sweat and pork. Blaire held deadly still, watching Kali carefully.

“I smell troll,” She whispered with exaggerated mouth movements.

Blaire nodded. “I hear grunts.”

“You think Matilde is nearby?” Kali snorted at her own joke and Blaire pursed her lips with a look of disapproval.

“I think we should proceed cautiously.”

“Fine.”

The pair eased further down the tunnel, bodies pressed against the walls and their steps in perfect synchronisation. Kali held the torch as far behind her as she could reach in order to keep the flame from travelling too far ahead of them.

The grunting and snuffling noises grew in volume and the path twisted sharply. The women paused before sharing a look of affirmation. They would take the beasts by surprise.

After sliding the still-lit torch into an empty brazier bolted to the wall, Kali pulled Selenia over her shoulder from its place precariously strapped to her back, and Blaire took her sword and shield into her hands, adjusting her grip with a roll of her wrist.

They breached the corner in unison and launched themselves at the three trolls lurking in the dark. Blaire took a head-on assault tactic, engaging with the closest beast and hacking and slicing at it with controlled and concise swings of her arm.

Kali flung herself past the pair without pause and twirled Selenia between her hands in warning at the two trolls approaching her, swinging it in wide arcs to keep them back. One knew better than to get too close; the less intelligent of the two had his throat, arm and both legs slashed.

Kali took down the third troll with a precise throw, impaling Selenia between its beady eyes. There was no reason to draw out a fight against animals. Kali had zero respect for those that baited and toyed with creatures. If you shall hunt them then do so with mercy.

Humans she could play with, though.

The newest human of interest to her stepped up to her side as she wrenched Selenia free of the troll’s face with a harsh jerk. The sound it made was highly unpleasant.

“Clean work,” Blaire said appreciatively. “Let us see if you are as deft with a smaller blade.”

“A smaller blade?” Kali asked curiously, raising a single brow and stalking back to the brazier to collect her sputtering torch.

“We will skin them; take the meat and tusks.”

“Delicious,” Kali mumbled unenthusiastically and plunked the torch back in the brazier. She would much prefer goat or salmon…

“Troll meat is near identical to pork.” Blaire consoled her, sounding far too much like Kali’s mother for her liking.

“Yes, I am sure it is.” Kali huffed and took a squatted seat beside the troll with skin already ripped open in multiple places. She had a palm-sized blade tucked into the hidden pocket at her left breast, beneath her underarm. It easily peeled the animal’s skin back.

They worked in silence for a few minutes until they had fallen into the rhythm of their work.

Surprisingly, Blaire was first to attempt casual conversation as they stripped the carcasses. “I have never met anyone-”

“With eyes like mine?” Kali interrupted with a vicious grin, well aware from the brief time she had known her that Blaire was far above making such comments. She was a woman gifted with a tactful nature. Kali, however, had the nature of a mischievous child; therefore she could not allow an opportunity to make Blaire uncomfortable pass without incident.

“I was going to say that fights as you do with a spear,” Blaire corrected her quietly. Her cheeks tinged pink except for the white scar on her right side which stood out all the more for its newly flushed backdrop. “You have a very unusual technique.”

Kali leant back a little to peer at Blaire over her shoulder, eyes half-lidded and a single brow raised.“Unusual?” she repeated.

“Beautiful, very smooth, like a dancer,” Blaire listed off in the rhythm of her knife’s sliding strokes through wet troll skin.

“How kind of you to say. Do you give such sweet compliments to all the women you fight with?” Kali asked coyly, batting her lashes just a little.

Was it her fault she had become deprived of female attention? Well, perhaps it was partly her own fault for falling into the trap that was poised between Matilde’s muscular thighs. She knew the woman well enough to have known that becoming her lover did not mean being pandered to and doted on. But sometimes you were out in the wilderness with only two women for company and you needed to get laid, and sometimes that became a habit that became harder and harder to break. Kali was well aware that this break was long overdue and that it needed to happen soon. However, her mother had taught her that the intelligent monkey always had his hand around the next vine before releasing the previous one.

“Those that fight well,” Blaire answered softly. She did not take her eyes off the carcass in front of her to appreciate Kali’s flirtatious half-smile.

Kali sighed quietly on an out-breath and returned her gaze to her own pile of quickly congealing blood and troll meat.“What about the group you are working with currently, Eudora and her girls?” she asked slowly, separating the unwanted organs from the muscle and fat.

“They fight well.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“What are they like?” Kali questioned impatiently. She pulled out a stray bone carelessly and was very lucky that it did not splinter into a morbid confetti over what would likely be her dinner. “Which ones have sour attitudes? Which ones are lazy? Tell me everything!”

The slick slicing sounds of Blaire’s endlessly moving knife halted. “Why would you care?” she asked, her voice half-suspicion, half-amusement.

“Because neither Dani nor Matilde are the talkative type and I don’t often get to have interesting or pointless conversations with people.”

“You enjoy pointless conversations?”

“They are my favourite!” Kali admitted with a laugh.“Pointless conversations often include far more truth than an intentional conversation; if there is nothing to be gained from it you have no incentive to lie.”

“Fine.” Blaire thought for a moment before continuing. “I suppose if I had to find a way to describe them each as a single type, I would say that Lowri is the inexperienced member; Magali is the most intelligent, and Dora is… well, she is our leader.”

“How boring,” Kali drawled. “I would describe Dani as rudely quiet and Matilde as the world’s most powerful joy mosquito.”

“Joy mosquito?”

“She drains the joy out of everything,” Kali explained, assuming that Blaire knew what a mosquito was and therefore did not need further clarification… She was rather sure they only inhabited the warmest regions of Elatior’s dagger; it was very possible Blaire had never been subjected to the wrath of a little bloodsucker.

They finished their work as neatly as was possible given the lack of steady light and the constrictions of a single knife each and no specialist tools. Each slung the carefully portioned meat into leather sacks with a sprinkle of salt. Not that they needed to preserve it for long as their stomachs had already been protesting loudly as they chopped.

The pair cleaned their knives, slung their packs onto their backs and continued to follow the deep tunnel, assisted only by their torch which could barely cling to its flame. It would not be long until it succumbed to a cold death.

They walked side-by-side, Kali occasionally humming a few bars of what she could remember of the songs of the market square she raced about as a child.

Blaire pulled a strange expression.“You ask a lot of questions. Would you answer one too?” she asked carefully.

“Of course,” Kali answered happily, glad to not have the responsibility of carrying the conversation on her slim shoulders. “I have few secrets and little shame. Ask what you wish.”

“You and Matilde… are you, um-”

“We have sex. We are not in love,” Kali stated calmly. She was not ashamed of her relationship with Matilde. In fact, she was rather glad to be asked about her romantic status by such a pretty lady.

“Ah.”

Blaire’s response pulled a frown onto Kali’s face against her will as she wondered what it meant. Just how well did Blaire know Matilde? What did ‘ah’ mean?

She could not linger in her thoughts. Kali was anti-silence and had to continue the conversation as long as she could. “What about you and Eudora?” she asked as lightly as possible.

“Pardon?”

“Are you two…” Kali dragged her eyes over Blaire’s sumptuous silhouette in a deliberate act of insinuation.

“Oh, no,” Blaire stammered. A quiet and awkward laugh bubbled out of her. “She is a dear friend, but I have _never_ considered her-”

“Who _are_ you considering?” Kali interrupted with a wild grin; she knew there was someone. There always was.

“Ah, I, well…”

Kali nodded slowly to encourage her. “There is someone you have an interest in?”she probed, grin still front and present. It was the way of the wise warrior to know one’s opponent well. Who was she to face in a battle for Blaire’s bed?

“Magali,” Blaire mumbled.

“The mage?”

“That’s her,” she confirmed with a sigh.

“How fascinating,” Kali drawled, her mind already galloping ten miles ahead of her mouth. “I would not have chosen her as your type. And what does she think of you?”

Blaire shrugged. “I doubt she knows of my attraction to her, or that she has ever thought of me as anything other than a fellow adventurer. We are not exactly an expected fit. I have not made any particular effort to gain her attention either.”

“Why not?”

“I… do not know,” Blaire admitted, her face scrunched in confused surprise. “I suppose it seems such an unlikely match; I have not considered it coming to fruition.”

“I assume confessing will be the first thing you shall do if you make it out of here alive, then?” Kali inquired almost innocently.

With a squashed expression Blaire replied, “What a horrifying thought.”

“You are welcome.”

“I do not know if it is indeed that kind of passionate, desperate feeling of love, the kind in which you make a grand confession. It feels much… warmer, softer, a budding feeling of affection still.”

That sounded ideal to Kali: soft affection… and, of course, a filthy nightly routine of animalistic sex. Deep, painful love, the kind with attachment and commitment, that was completely outside of Kali’s scope. “Are you looking for that kind of love?” she asked, managing to sound convincingly uninterested.

“I do not know,” Blaire said softly, “But you ask an awful lot of personal questions for someone I have known barely a day.”

“Matilde speaks of you often, so I feel as though I have known you all my life!”

“Truly?”

“No.” Kali snorted. She had not so much as heard Eudora or Blaire’s names prior to meeting them in that imp-ridden field. Matilde was not the type to disclose and even Kali had trouble cracking her vault-like interior.

Blaire pulled an exasperated expression and Kali snorted herself into another wave of laughter at the sight, staggering a little as she walked.

The snuffling sound of trolls picking up their scent halted them. They prepared once again for battle. Kali with and grin. Blaire with concerned eyes and tight lips.


	9. Chapter 9 - Eudora

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of the thank yous to the fabulous rebelrsr - beta extraordinaire.

Eudora

Patience is a pool in one’s mind. Some pools are deeper than others. Some refill quicker after being drained from irritation. Eudora’s inner pool of patience was rippling, the surface unsettled to the point of splashing.

Having been split from her group and left in a damp, unevenly chiselled tunnel of encroaching earth, her composure was already being tested. The fact that she had been squashed into a trio that contained her ex-lover and her protégé had her on the brink of madness.

As endearing as Lowri’s endless enquiries usually were (watching her discover the world outside of her small farm was almost as magical for Eudora as it was for the girl herself) it did not leave quite the same sweet and naive impression when the questions were directed at hers and Matilde’s past as lovers.

Eudora was uncertain as to whether Lowri’s questions or Matilde’s answers were irritating her more. She wished Matilde would follow her example for once, that she would refuse to answer as she did. Ridiculously, she had actually found herself relieved when they were attacked by a pack of four very unwelcoming trolls. It gave her a break from the incessant interrogating occurring from either side of her head, one ear barraged with questions and the other filled with answers.

Once the cohort had been swiftly cut down, skinned and their meat collected, the questions continued.

“Well, it does not sound as though it was quite as small a village as the one outside your farm,” Matilde answered slowly. “But it was still rather small as villages go.”

“And then she just left with you? Just like that?”

“She packed a few items first, of course, said her goodbyes to her parents and… I believe it was a brother?”

Eudora nodded despite herself, surprised that Matilde had remembered Elliott after only one brief meeting.

“Were her family not suspicious of you?”

“Suspicious?” Matilde grunted with obvious amusement.

“I think perhaps another topic of conversation would be more stimulating,” Eudora suggested firmly; she had allowed this inquiry to go on long enough.

Lowri dipped her head and fell into silence. Matilde said no more either, but had a mixed expression: equal parts curiosity and annoyance.

Their tunnel split into two pathways ahead of them. They flipped a coin to decide which to choose. The left side won and was a dead-end. They had taken longer to flip the coin and assign sides to the tunnels than they did exploring it.

“The other one had better lead somewhere,” Matilde grumbled under her breath.

They doubled back on themselves and followed the right-side tunnel with slow and cautious steps, Lowri beginning to drag her feet after a few hours. The silence that clouded the air between the three of them was nerve-fraying; Eudora’s stomach tensed in wait for one of them to start speaking again.

The path flared open suddenly, revealing a room both wide and tall and filled with the layered pattering sounds of sprinkling water falling in from a large hole in the ceiling. Eudora’s eyes took a moment to adjust to so much light after having only matches to light their path since being chased into their tunnel by the mud slide.

Her eyes were quickly drawn to a pair dressed in black and purple, the only colours in the room that weren’t another shade of brown.

“Magali!” Eudora gasped, launching into a run as she entered the enormous cavern, stopping a foot from the woman to appraise her. No bruises or cuts on the skin she could see, and there was not a lot that could be seen under the thick layer of grime that covered most of her body. For once, the woman did not look quite as pale as a full moon.

Dani gave her a dull glance and then walked to Matilde’s side. The pair said nothing to one another, but Matilde gave the short woman a nod of greeting. It was not returned.

“Eudora,” Magali said with a weary smile, not bothering to conceal her clear relief.“I have never been so glad to hear your voice.”

“My voice?”

“You do not understand how long it has been since I have heard another human speak,” Magali hissed through her teeth.

Matilde chuckled quietly behind them. “Dani is not the type for idle chatter,” she explained for Eudora and Lowri.

Dani shrugged.

A renewal of energy surged into Lowri as she began to give a far more exciting recount of their journey through their tunnel than it had actually felt to experience. Eudora let her eyes slide shut where she stood and simply listened; she hadn’t the energy to correct any of her exaggerations. When she was finished, Magali gave her and Dani’s experience in the form of a much less extravagant story.

“Dora!”

Eudora jolted at the sound of her name, her eyes snapping open, and spun on her heel to search the surrounding tunnels for the source of Blaire’s voice. Her stomach was tense as her eyes darted about.

Blaire appeared from the second entrance to the left, her fluffy hair poking out of her plaits in all directions and her armour caked in mud and what appeared to be splashes of blood.

Kali bounded out from behind her, flinging a dead torch aside. “Fear not, lovely ladies, the sexiest member of our group has returned!” she announced, her loud voice bouncing from the curved walls.

“Blaire! I am so glad you are alive,” Eudora called as the women approached. “Are you hurt?”

“I am fine, a few scratches and a slathering of mud is all.”

“I see blood.”

“Troll blood.”

Kali jumped in to add, “We were attacked by so many, more than I have fingers!” She waggled her slim fingers, there were patches of dried blood stuck to the tanned skin.

“And yet you sound pleased,” Matilde commented with an exasperated expression.

Kali winked and put her hands on her hips.

Blaire scraped her muddy fingernails along the twists of her braids, dragging down as much fluffy hair as she could and tucking the curls caked to her cheeks behind her ears.“What is important is how we proceed from here,” she advised tiredly.

“We each came from one of these three tunnels, and there are two we have not ventured into,” Eudora replied with what she hoped was a reassuring tone. “We have options to search.”

With a frown, Matilde, predictably, found a way to push back against their plan.“Mines do not have back doors. If we follow those tunnels, we will end up deeper into this hole.”

“If we do not follow them, we will die in this room,” Magali snapped; although, her voice was quieter than usual. Eudora wondered for a moment if her friend was intimidated by Matilde; she would not fault her for it if she was.

“Better to attempt than lament!” Kali proclaimed.

“Where does she get these phrases from?” Matilde grumbled, apparently to herself.

“Blame anything you do not understand about me on the south!”

“I have been to the south and yet I have never met a creature quite like you.”

Kali’s grin widened,.“I will be adding that to the very short list I keep of ‘compliments from Matilde’,” she said sweetly.

“Take it how you please.” Matilde huffed.

“Matilde, please, no bedroom talk in front of company!”

Lowri watched them with round child-like eyes, and Eudora was not pleased with the look of guilty fascination that she also held. It would not do for their youngest member to begin replicating their attitudes and behaviours. Kali seemed a capable warrior, but her attitude to her work and everyone around her was far too chaotic for Eudora’s standards.

She decided to halt their bickering before it got any worse. “I believe it would be beneficial for us to take the opportunity to rest and eat here first, then we can proceed into the tunnels and explore them one at a time.” She spoke firmly to hold their attention.s “It would not be safe to break apart our group again.”

Of course, Matilde was the only woman with an objection. “But it could be that both tunnels are short dead-ends, then we would have wasted time resting when they do not actually lead anywhere.”

“There is also the possibility that those tunnels contain more trolls,” Eudora replied, “in which case we will be walking into battle fatigued and hungry.”

“In which case-”

“All in favour of Eudora’s plan raise your hand,” Magali announced loudly. Eudora was not entirely convinced as to whether the mage was standing up for her leader, or if Matilde was simply rubbing her up the wrong way with all of her barking orders and use of imperatives. Magali was a valued member of Eudora’s team; her input was encouraged, and Eudora would never expect her to simply obey. It seemed Matilde had a very opposite set of expectations for her own women.

Blaire, Lowri and Magali confidently raised their hands, and Eudora felt a small surge of pride run through her. Her girls were loyal. She liked to think she gave them reason to be.

The slim southerner also raised her hand lazily, resting her arm against her dirt-streaked cheek.

Dani folded her arms over her chest but said nothing.

Matilde scowled.

“If you are so desperate to plow on ahead, why don’t you check the tunnels for yourself while we take a break?” Kali suggested dully.

Before Matilde could answer, Eudora stated, “No more splitting up. We move as a group or we do not move at all.”

Matilde locked eyes with her, her expression a mask of disinterest, but Eudora could feel a force behind her gaze, a predator sizing up its prey. She could imagine a scale inside Matilde’s head, weighing her thoughts back and forth as she considered her response, as she considered Eudora and whether she was willing to be led by her junior and once-apprentice. But Eudora was not a common peasant girl any longer; she was a grown woman leading a band of capable warriors who relied on her to guide them.

Their confidence in her had given her a surge of assurance. She would not be pushed into a power struggle in front of her own group.

For an awkwardly long amount of time, the only sound in the cavern was rainfall. Thankfully, the southerner took it upon herself to cut the tension.

“Ladies,” Kali called out theatrically, “let us rest our delicate bottoms upon something soft and raise our sore toes.”

Matilde broke their stare, turning her head away to glare at the far wall.

Eudora took a moment to peer into her satchel despite knowing she did not have anything soft for them to ‘rest their delicate bottoms on’, and the other women followed suit.

“I only have food and healing supplies with me, unfortunately.” Blaire sighed as she rifled through her own pack.

“Absolutely not!” Magali snapped, drawing the groups eyes and ears to where she stood beside Kali with her hand to her chest.

“It will be ruined in these tunnels eventually.” The southerner reasoned with a coaxing smile.

“Do you have any understanding of how difficult and expensive it was to procure a cloak in this shade of purple?”

“It will not be ruined by us perching on it for a short while.”

“I still need to wear it when we continue our trek!”

“Can you not use magic to clean it? You were able to dry it earlier.”

“The work of a complex protection spell in which I created a hydrophobic shield under your clothes and pulled it outwards, repelling the water from your bodies and clothes.”

“Your magic touched me under my clothes?” Kali asked coyly with a sly grin.

“Can you not do the same but for dirt?” Matilde sighed; she was not one to hide her impatience.

Magali’s expression made it very clear that this was not an option to be considered.

Dani turned away from the group, squatted over her rucksack and began to pull at the contents. The rest of the women glanced amongst themselves curiously, but none said a word. Eudora was the only member of their circle stood close enough that she could see the swirl of items inside the short woman’s bag, shifting messily as she dug through. Including a sharp edged item that reflected the room’s dim light for a moment before it was swallowed up by the contents of the sack.

Eudora decided she would ask about the crystal later; it was not her business to inspect another’s religion in front of others.

Dani tugged a long rectangle of material out and presented it to the group with slightly raised brows.

“Why did you bring your cloak if not to wear it from the forest to the door?” Lowri asked with her head tilted. Far too often she reminded Eudora of a curious puppy.

“I would ask the very same question and say that the rain can not reach us indoors but…” Eudora gestured to the hole in the ceiling leaking copious litres of water into the room to emphasise her point.

Dani ignored their words and flapped the thick cloth out, spreading it at their feet.

“Sit,” she said.

The women dropped to the ground, balancing as much of their bodies onto the material as they could. Dani stayed standing and dragged more items out of her pack: short dry sticks tied with thin brittle rope, flint and steel, a small travel pot and a jar of oil.

She created a circular shaped dip in the dirt, placed the sticks into it and set it alight, tending the flames until she had a steady heat. They watched her work until she twisted her head with a single hand out.

“Meat,” she demanded.

Blaire, Kali, Eudora and Matilde pulled out their preserved troll meat, handing over the lightly salted sacks to her carefully. She poured a small amount of oil into her pot and began to slowly, piece by piece, cook the meat.

Kali leant back on her hands with a relaxed sigh as the smell of hot meat and oil began to waft towards the group splayed across the cloak.

“How old are you, child?” she asked Lowri lazily, tilting her head slightly to the side.

“Nineteen full years and three moons,” Lowri announced proudly.

“And you, mage?”

“I am approaching my twenty-ninth name day,” Magali answered stiffly. “Why do you ask?”

“I hoped to hear that I was older than you,” Kali answered, her beaming grin still shining from her face. “Unfortunately it turns out you are a decrepit old woman.”

Matilde chuckled, drawing strange looks from most of the group until she explained. “That makes Kali the second-most junior woman present; therefore, please feel free to order her about as you wish,” she added with another short laugh.

Kali snorted loudly. “You can certainly try; however, what you will actually receive is fully dependent on my mood,” she warned, still grinning.

“If I ordered you to clean my boots?” Magali asked with the quick flash of a very unfamiliar glint of mischief in her eyes.

“You would receive a swift clap to your ear,” Kali replied without hesitation.

Eudora wondered if her eyes were deceiving her or if she saw the slightest twitch of a smile on Dani’s lips as she pushed the sizzling meat about her small metal pan.


	10. Chapter 10 - Blaire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by Rebelrsr the magnificent and wonderful!

Blaire

With relatively full stomachs and slightly less sore limbs, all seven women rose, packed their things, refilled their steel canteens from the clear pool, and approached the pair of tunnels at the back of the cavern. Neither looked particularly inviting, in Blaire’s opinion.

The first was a very short dead-end, much to Matilde’s frustration.

The other, filled to the brim with trolls. Every time they cut down another handful of the snuffling beasts, there seemed to be another group waiting around the next bend in the path. They quickly gave up the process of skinning the bodies and collecting their meat, the weight of their packs growing heavy enough to slow them.

When they reached another wall of bumpy mud blocking them moving any further, Matilde slammed her fists against it. It did not yield to her. The lines gouged into the dark earth informed them that a far larger tool was required to shift this clay-like mud, and that someone had been trying recently with something long and sharp.

“Our only remaining option is the hole in the ceiling back in the large chamber with the pool,” Eudora said quietly and turned on her heel, apparently to do just that. She walked stiffly and Blaire wondered if it was the pressure pulling at her - her brain so preoccupied with trying to piece together another plan that it had left her body to wield itself.

“And how do you propose we reach such heights?” Matilde growled; although, she followed a step behind Eudora and allowed herself to be led back up the tunnel.

Eudora did not answer. She put one leather boot in front of the other. Blaire followed, knowing her leader was thinking and that she trusted her. That was enough for now.

“We could not touch the earth above with every woman here balanced on each other’s shoulders. It is impossible,” Matilde added angrily.

“The water in the pool was rising from the rain, was it not?” Kali wondered aloud.

Blaire sighed softly, wishing she did not have to crush the first idea any of them had come up with. She said as softly as she could, “Incredibly slowly.”

“Eventually it will fill and raise us!” Lowri suggested with a small and hopeful smile; clearly, she was choosing to ignore Blaire’s counsel. But then is it not normal to wish to only listen to those with positive words?

“By which point our corpses can climb out into the fresh Western air,” Magali snapped wearily. She did not have the stamina of the other women in their group and was growing more irritable with every fatiguing action she was forced to take. Blaire wished there was a way in which she could relieve her of her exhaustion, but without a comfortable spot to rest there was nothing. Not that the others would likely be in any mood to stop again.

Kali peered at Magali curiously. “And what is your plan, mage?” she asked with a raised brow.

“We must dig our way out,” Eudora stated; although, she could have very well been speaking to herself.

“The entire entrance is filled with mud,” Kali reminded them. “We can not dig from our tunnels to the door.”

“We will not dig back the way we came,” Magali explained slowly, her eyes on Eudora to confirm that they were sharing their thoughts, that this was what Eudora intended. “We will find the highest point in the cavern and dig upwards from there. This mine is set into a mountain, but if there is a thin spot in that room, we must use it to our advantage.”

Eudora nodded.

Matilde scrunched her face but did not argue. Blaire assumed that meant she had no better plan in her inventory.

“We can carve stairs into the wall with enough hands working at it,” Eudora muttered, turning on the spot as though mapping out the ascent with her eyes against the curved walls of the oversized room.

“And what shall we dig with?” Kali asked, her voice full of amusement. It seemed even when faced with starving to death the slim woman could not take anything seriously.

“You have weapons do you not?” Magali prompted them.

Every woman pulled their blade or spear out. Dani removed two short daggers from her thick boots and Lowri held her mace up with an uncertain expression. Kali snorted and handed her a small dagger that Blaire was fairly certain she had just whipped out of her brassier. Lowri took it gratefully.

“Do you, mage?” Kali asked, grinning.

Magali lifted her cloak and robes to reveal Neela, her prized crystal dagger, strapped to her thigh over cloth leggings. Blaire took note that she would need to find a moment to discuss hardier trousers with her. She knew Magali wore a leather chest piece under her robes, but she should not leave her legs open to injury; she could be incapacitated too easily that way.

“Blue crystal.” Kali whistled. “I would bet a fair amount of silvers that little pricker is heavily enchanted.”

“I will not delve into too much detail; we do not have the time, but I would advise you do your best not to get pricked.”

Eudora clapped her hands together once, gaining the room’s attention.“Magali, Blaire… Matilde, I should like your help in planning where best to begin.” She nodded for them to follow her towards the nearest wall.

Kali rolled her eyes but surprisingly had nothing to say. Instead she wrapped an arm around Lowri’s shoulders and bumped her hip against her. Dani stood still and said nothing, but her eyes had been locked onto Magali’s dagger since it had been unsheathed.

Eudora ran her finger against the hard mud wall. “I believe our safest option is to begin here and work our way up clockwise. What are your thoughts?” she asked their small huddle.

The four women debated and deliberated for far less time than Blaire had expected, and once Magali had scribbled her calculations across a scruffy, dog-eared piece of parchment, they agreed upon dividing themselves into three teams. They would not be able to carve at the same steps at the same time, and it would be best to be digging all day if they could. Their day would be broken into a four-part schedule, one part sleep, two meals and one long digging shift. They would rotate their groups through this schedule for maximum digging efforts; so that for at least three-quarters of each day, someone would be progressing their escape route.

They returned to the three women lounging on Dani’s cloak (once again spread across the moist dirt) and explained the expected route, the shift patterns and how they intended to divide themselves.

Magali volunteered to join the first team to work, that way she could ensure all of her measurements and calculations were being followed perfectly from the first cut. Before Blaire could offer herself to join Magali, Matilde barked that she also wished to dig first. Apparently she was going to ‘lose her mind’ if she did not start working immediately.

Perhaps that was for the best, Blaire consoled herself. Matilde was clearly frustrated and needed an outlet for that energy. Also, Eudora had been watching over Lowri for more than a day straight, and Blaire knew she most likely needed a break from the questions, the never-ending energy, the inability to contain her enthusiasm even in dire situations. In other words: all of the attributes that made Lowri… Lowri.

“I should like to take Lowri,” she announced to the group. “While Magali and Matilde begin the dig we can trail back along our paths and collect any troll meat we were unable to carry previously. We will need to stockpile all of the food available to us in order to see us through this task.”

Kali threw an arm up, muddy at the elbow where she had been stretched across Dani’s small cloak. “I would like to join your team also, Lady Blaire!”

“Please do not call me that.”

“Madame Blaire, it is then!”

“That leaves Eudora and Dani,” Matilde interjected, much to Blaire’s relief.

Eudora nodded. “We can prepare a living space and plan meals,” she decided, smiling at Dani as she laid out their tasks. “Then attempt to get some rest, we will be third to take a turn at digging.”

Dani nodded in agreement.

“I will leave the meals to you, Dani; I have seen that you are a highly capable cook. I would not wish to get in your way.” Eudora said kindly, already making use of her likeability. She was rather skilled at forming bonds with women. Perhaps that was why she excelled in leadership. Blaire had no doubt she would have the short woman’s approval by the end of the day.

Dani nodded and strode away to begin setting up a cooking area.

Eudora collected the women’s bedding and any supplies they were carrying in their packs to sort through and store away. “If you wish to relive yourselves, I will be digging a hole in the dead-end tunnel.”

“Aren’t they all dead-ends?” Kali mused aloud.

“The one which is only a few metres deep,” Eudora added patiently.

“The acoustics shall be lovely.”

As a group, they silently agreed not to respond to Kali’s comment.

Instead, Magali decided to take the floor. “Now that we have our marvellous escape plan in place, should we not discuss the suspicious elements of our situation?” she suggested with folded arms and raised brows. With her cloak and robes slid to her elbows, she resembled a school mistress from Blaire’s childhood, scolding her class for chattering during her lecture. Not that Blaire got to experience a great deal of schooling, only the years that were offered without tuition fees.

“Suspicious?” Lowri asked with wide eyes.

“If no one here is exaggerating, there were more than thirty trolls nested within these tunnels.” Magali dragged her stern look over each woman as though scanning them for visible clues that would reveal whether or not they had lied about their conquests.

“That... is ludicrous.” Matilde agreed, her brows pulled together and eyes staring just past Eudora’s face and into the distance.

“Trolls live in packs no larger than five members strong. What are the chances that they wandered in through a single entrance, pack by pack, and designated themselves each a separate area to rule over?”

“Impossible,” Matilde stated firmly.

An incredibly long pause sat between the women, all holding flummoxed expressions.

“What is your theory, Magali?” Eudora asked gently.

“I have not settled on one as of yet, but I am almost certain a third party was involved.”

“A rival mine owner?” Matilde offered; although, her voice did not indicate that she believed her own suggestion.

Lowri’s face was alight with the thrill of mystery as she threw in her own guess with far too much excitement. “A scorned worker?”

Eudora gave her a disapproving look, reminding her without a word that this was a serious issue.

“Well, we shall have plenty of time to ponder while we work,” said Kali, stretching her lithe body and giving her spear a few lazy twirls. “Ladies, let us go and skin some trolls!”

It was imperative that they collected the meat and preserved it before it had time to rot. Blaire nodded her agreement and instructed Lowri to leave everything but Kali’s small knife and her carry sack. Kali borrowed one of Dani’s daggers, trading it for her spear, which she demanded that Dani “guard with her life”.

They split into their respective teams: Dani preparing another fire with a larger pit; Eudora taking herself to the short tunnel to dig out a latrine; Blaire, Kali and Lowri heading towards their trail of troll carcass.

“We need to start digging,” Matilde announced firmly.

Blaire could almost hear Magali gritting her teeth before she replied, “We need to carefully begin marking the earth where we will be making the incisions.” Her voice brimmed with frustration.

“Tell me where to dig, mage,” Matilde growled.

As the three of them entered the cramped tunnel they had already walked the length of twice, Blaire pictured Magali attempting to restrain Matilde as though she were a wild horse. The fantasy in her mind came complete with reins and stirrups. She was uncertain as to who would win this battle of wills. Magali the reigning reasoning champion or Matilde the stubborn sovereign. She had a preferred victor though, and it was not Matilde.

She respected Matilde for her battle prowess and had dutifully followed her for a fair few years as part of her mercenary group. When it came to straight-forward tasks such as a fight, she trusted Matilde and knew she was more than capable of seeing them through safely. When it came to the construction of an enormous inverted staircase that was required to hold the weight of seven women and lead them to freedom in order to avoid dying a slow and hungry death, Blaire trusted Magali’s wide knowledge and careful calculations. Every person had their own specialism; she would not follow Magali into a fight, and she did not trust Matilde and her heavy-handed attitude to hold control over the digging operation.

Regardless, she supposed she had her own task to complete and it would not do to be distracted by thoughts of Matilde and Magali locking horns. She was sure Eudora would intervene if things were to get out of hand.


	11. Chapter 11 - Eudora

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you Rebelrsr for beta-reading ^^

Eudora

Despite the long hours of gruelling labour, spirits were relatively high among the seven women. Eudora could only attribute this to the hope that grew among them with every completed step.

Kali’s below-belt humour may also have helped somewhat; although, Eudora did not always understand the punchlines. Lowri most likely did not either, but she smiled all the same, grateful to be included. Blaire definitely found her amusing; Eudora could tell. Perhaps it was a relief for her to not be solely relied upon to create the group’s entertainment.

Eudora had been marking off the days against a soft patch of wall behind a waist-high rock so as not to lose count. She now had four strikes in the dirt, and they still had a large section to complete.

Although their meals were rationed strictly, they had not felt the shortage of food too greatly yet as they had consumed all of their sundries collected from the bottoms of their packs first and were now on a diet that consisted purely of meat. It filled them suitably for their physically demanding days. Matilde’s body had coped well with the transition to two meals a day of undiluted protein. Magali’s had not. The other five women were not feeling their best but did not complain, grateful at least that they were not suffering the painful stomach cramping and nausea that Magali was.

Eudora paused to take a deep breath, as she found herself on the verge of panting. The work had not gotten easier each day; instead, her hands were blistered and sore when she awoke and only got progressively more painful as the day wore on. She had developed callouses on her hands over the years from wielding her bow, but they were not protecting her from the pain her dagger handle inflicted upon her as she dug with its small blade.

Dani was knelt on the step itself and already cutting into the wall above to begin the next indent; she did not speak but occasionally Eudora earned a very slight smile or a nod in response to her attempts at small talk. The only sound the short woman made came from the thunks and scrapes of her dagger. From Eudora’s position, carving into the wall at a forty-five degree angle, she faced their camp.

Magali and Matilde sat at opposite sides of the small fire pit, eating their supper and rolling out their limbs in an attempt to shift the tightness from their shift of digging. Kali was sat at the edge of their rest area, where Blaire and Lowri had been sleeping for an hour or so already, chattering away in her usual laid-back style. As a member of Blaire and Lowri’s group, she should really be getting some rest, but Eudora did not feel it appropriate for her to advise the southerner on how to care for herself. She was led by Matilde and it was Matilde’s place to say something if she felt it was necessary.

They were all sporting identical double-braid hairstyles, courtesy of Blaire, to keep their already dirty and greasy hair free from any further ruin. It felt incredibly unnatural to Eudora to see so much of Magali’s forehead for the first time in the year she had been riding as a member of their group. Her full bangs usually hid her pale skin from view. Lowri had opted against braids for her own hair, as she feared she did not have enough hair for it to be braided without pain. Her frohawk would live on in its misshapen form. Dani had her longer chunk of black hair usually tied in a top-knot woven into a single plait that lay stiffly against the nape of her neck. Although she had not so much as agreed to it as… not disagreed. Blaire had offered, and Dani had not replied. Dani got braided.

“Where are you from?” the slim southerner asked of Magali. Always asking questions, always curious, always interested in everything.

Magali chewed her meat slowly and swallowed quietly before answering. “Mesial.”

“People do not come from Mesial,” Kali corrected her.“They journey there as adults. A pilgrimage of knowledge.”

“My mother is a highly-respected scholar,” Magali answered, not without a slight layer of conceit coating her words. “She could not leave her research or her students, so she birthed and raised me in the city.”

“How old were you when you first met a fellow child?” Kali asked, without any attempt to hide her amusement.

Eudora had never thought about it too deeply, but she supposed the thought of a child being raised in Mesial was rather strange. It was a hub of scholars and nobility with their eyes firmly set on the goal of knowledge and invention. She wondered what kind of childhood could be had in such a place.

“I met other children,” Magali snapped, her plump lips drawn down, accentuating her cupid’s bow.

Kali was not to be silenced by Magali’s irritated reply though. “This answers so many of my questions about you,” she said instead. Her lazy grin held its usual place, and Eudora wondered if she deliberately smiled with such an uncaring expression in order to further fuel Magali’s annoyance.

“Such as?”

“Why you are incapable of being childish, or enjoying anything that does not result in a productive end.”

“I do not think it is strange that I do not enjoy the wasting of time.”

It had not gone unnoticed, at least not by Eudora, that Kali seemed eager to engage Magali in small bouts of bickering or teasing such as this. Matilde never intervened, whether because she could not or would not, Eudora had not yet decided.

“Fine.” Kali clapped her hands together. “New question: what will be the first thing you do once we are free of this place?”

“I will eat so much bread.” Magali groaned, closing her eyes and scrunching her mouth. Eudora was sure there were fictitious loaves roaming past her eyes beneath the lids, taunting the poor woman. Kali only laughed at her with an unladylike snort thrown in.

“And you, Dora?”

Eudora did not miss the sharp look Matilde shot Kali at the pet name, but she ignored it all the same. She considered the question for a moment, pausing the movement of her digging dagger. Her eyes drifted from the blade to her mud-caked hands and lower arms, her tattoos almost entirely concealed under the dirt.

“I should like to visit a bath house,” she decided finally. “The expensive kind, with scented soaps that are carved into pretty designs and flower petals floating atop the water.” It had been far too long since she had experienced a real wash, with water that was warm and where you could cleanse yourself in private. In their small cavern, they had been scooping water out of the central pool and carrying it away to wash with in the far corner so as not to contaminate the main body of water that they were also using to drink from. Despite her best efforts, Eudora never felt truly clean when washing from a pot.

She broke out of her thoughts of floral scents and skin-softening oils to continue stabbing at the mud beside her. The quicker she worked, the quicker she could sink into a blissful bath.

Kali hummed in agreement, a soft smile on her lips. “That sounds wonderful,” she said, raising her grubby palms to eye-level and inspecting them with raised brows, as though expecting the mud to melt from her tanned skin with the heat of her gaze.

“And what about you, Kali?” Eudora puffed out, slightly winded from a few particularly stubborn chunks of dirt that would not shift without her full strength.

“You know, Dora,” Kali said slowly. “I have yet to decide, but thank you for asking.”

Matilde glared over her bowl, held close to her mouth. “Perhaps you should spend less time talking and more resting. It will not be long before it will be your group’s shift to dig again.”

Kali rolled her eyes and then her body, tumbling into the messy pile of bedding beneath their wonky shelter. There was a rumble of slurred complaint that sounded most likely to be Blaire, but it was followed smoothly by soft snores so Eudora could only assume Kali had managed not to wake either of her women.

Matilde’s hazel eyes slid from the bedding pile to Eudora and then away quickly to stare into the depths of the pool ahead of her. She did not meet Eudora’s eyes again for the entirety of her digging shift, despite how many times she glanced back at the older woman herself.

Dani’s diligent digging sounds filled the silence though, and it gave Eudora plenty of time to float among her thoughts.


	12. Chapter 12 - Matilde

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you Rebelrsr for beta-reading! <3

Matilde

There were two steps left to dig out when the cavern began to collapse around them. Only Eudora’s forethought had gotten the majority of their camp already packed in preparation for completing the staircase that day.

The excitement was heavy in the air around them, hovering like a thick scent. They hurriedly dug away at the last stretch of wall. Their freedom seemingly so close, they allowed it to cloud their judgement. Five of the women were been digging at the same time at the peak of their enormous staircase, driven by desperation to finish. To break free of their dirty prison.

Dani and the younger girl Lowri were on the ground, preparing what they expected to be their final meal and packing away their things.

It began from the wall adjacent to the section they were carving into, the strain causing a crack that snaked from their top step and around the room. Then the tunnels leading into their cavern started to rumble, each of their ceilings falling in chunks until they were filled with large clods of earth.

Matilde barked at the women digging beside her to scale the wall any way they could. They would not be finishing the steps. Eudora screeched down to Dani and Lowri to get up and run, then she began running back down the steps. Although her first instinct was to follow, Matilde knew it would not aid them for more weight to be applied to the disintegrating steps. She would wait at the top instead.

Dani was laden like a donkey in the desert when she appeared beside Eudora and then swiftly passed her to get to Matilde. They did not need to exchange words. Matilde took two packs from the four she had piled onto her shoulders and acted as a propellant to shove the small yet stocky woman as far up the lumpy wall as she could reach. The other three had reached the ground above already, and Blaire and Kali dangled an arm each to pull Dani the rest of the way by her armpit and armour. The packs were not excessively heavily, and Matilde quickly strapped them to her back while she watched Dani’s kicking legs disappear over the lip of the wall. The straps crossed over her chest tightly.

A third of the way down the steps, Eudora hesitated as she awaited her youngest member’s ascent. But it would not be wise to stay in her position much longer. The steps themselves fell away in sheets of brittle mud.

“Hurry, Lowri! You are almost there!” Eudora called down, stepping backwards slowly as the young woman approached, struggling to keep her balance against the wall the stairs clung to. Her farm life had raised her with impressive natural strength. Matilde had been especially surprised at the girl’s distended and well-defined shoulder and back muscles she kept hidden under her light leather armour. But she did not have the agility of a warrior just yet.

The disintegrating steps chased her, and Matilde realised with alarm that they would soon overtake her. The girl was panic-stricken when the ground crumbled beneath her very feet and let out a strangled yelp. Thankfully, she did not halt her attempts to keep climbing the avalanching earth. Matilde heaved herself back down the steps between them, gripping Eudora’s arm and shoving her behind her towards Blaire and Kali’s waiting hands. Eudora had the arms of the archer she was: toned and strong, but only for certain motions. When it came down to raw strength, it was Matilde who needed to take charge.

The girl let out a chilling scream as she lost her stability in one foot; it dangled freely to the side as she scrabbled against the dirt.

Matilde reached her as the opposite wall crumpled inwards, and Lowri’s tear-streaked face disappeared below the cliff-like edge. She threw herself flat to the step she stood upon, chest hanging over the edge and snatched the girl by her bicep. She would most likely develop a bruise from the rough handling she received as Matilde dragged her back to solid ground, and then refused to release her until they had scaled the remaining steps to the peak. What was a bruise when you had your life?

With all of her might, Matilde launched the girl up into Eudora’s arms and then began to climb the wet wall, her fingers sliding over the few handholds she could find until she finally dragged herself over the lip and onto the grass that filled the small grove tucked between Baby Sylvester and its brother mountain.

She leapt up as quickly as her winded body would allow and let herself be led in a triangular formation of sprinting women with Blaire at the helm. They staggered away from the large hole that had been their only source of light and water for what felt like weeks.

The ground continued to cave in beneath them, and so they kept running in a pack of flailing limbs and panting breaths. A jolt ran through the ground, knocking them forward and sending them tumbling down the steep drop of the smallest mountain in the Sylvester range. Their descent was less than smooth, and Matilde tucked her head inwards with arms braced over her hair as rocks and bumps and sudden plummets threw her around, up, and mostly down.

They finished their fall in bog-like mud. Multiple slap-like splat sounds surrounded Matilde as she landed painfully in a thick puddle.

As Matilde raised her head, scraping mud from the side of her face which had landed in the slop, she realised with disbelief and relief that they were not far from the entrance to the mine, the border of Celandine’s forest, and the trees they had tethered their horses to. She hoped to any gods that were listening that no one had stolen her precious Alina, a horse of immense strength and bravery, her most prized possession and her longest friend.

Kali was flipped onto her stomach, face down in the soggy mud with blonde hair splayed around her in chunks where it had ripped free of her twin braids. The crazy bitch was cackling.

The youngest girl had fallen fairly close to Matilde. She grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and heaved her to her wobbling legs. Her fingernails were filled to the beds with mud from her desperate clinging to the steps and her cheeks were wet with tears. But as long as Matilde could hear her blubbering breaths, she knew the girl was fine.

“Th-thank you,” she gasped.

“You are fine,” Matilde said, a reminder for both of them.

“Lowri!” Eudora gasped as she stumbled on her way up from the ground and flung her arms around the girl. “Thank goodness. I was so- I could never forgive- I-” Her hands patted over Lowri’s face, neck, shoulders, and arms, as though checking every part was still in place. All it truly did was coat the girl in more sludge, but Matilde did not wish to ruin the emotional moment by pointing that out.

“I am fine.” Lowri sniffed and looked to Matilde as though to double-check she had her facts straight. Matilde gave her a small nod.

Eudora turned slowly to follow her gaze, her lips slightly parted and her own eyes watering. “Matilde,” she said so softly and yet it prodded so _hard_ at Matilde’s chest.

“It was nothing.”

“I can not thank you enough,” Eudora continued, her tone still so sweet and gentle and _awful_.

“Then do not thank me at all,” Matilde said as dismissively as she could manage. “It was nothing less than what we should expect from each other. We are a team, are we not?”

“We are,” Eudora agreed. And she smiled.

It was the smile that told Matilde she was in trouble; smiles are not supposed to warm your face like a hearth when they are directed at you.


	13. Chapter 13 - Kali

Kali

The mine owner had been hilariously livid at the state in which they left Silver Night Mine, hollering at their backs as they rode away. Eudora had instructed them to ignore him, and Magali agreed as she was still working on her conspiracy theories about evil troll-whisperers targeting them.

Kali already thought of herself as someone who was easily pleased, but that day she really was simply happy to be alive. And as long as she still was alive, she was rather uninterested in untangling a plot to make her otherwise. It had become incredibly boring as Magali found more and more oddities to add to her list of ‘evidence’. Included in her speech were the fact that they had explored so many different areas of the mine and yet had not found a single piece of mining equipment with which to help them dig their steps. She also went on a tirade regarding why the mine owner had been hanging around the entrance to Celandine’s forest instead of his home in town.

Luckily, Kali had the handy talent of selective hearing. She blocked out the drone from her ears and focused her eyes on Blaire, who rode a few metres ahead of her. Wide hips rocked as she rode, her grip lax on the reins. Kali wanted to pull up beside her, to natter and chatter and to have her attention. But Eudora was riding at her side already, occasionally exchanging small, weary smiles.

They followed the main road for at least an hour before Matilde signalled for them to turn into the undergrowth. She had spotted a small clearing. The sound of trickling water reached them faintly from the gap in the woodland that decorated the sides of the road. It did not slip past Kali that Eudora’s girls all looked to her for confirmation before following Matilde between the trees.

Once they were far enough buried amongst the soggy trees that they would not be spotted from the road, they dismounted in a rounded grove. At the far end, a stream, with water so clear it was refreshing simply to look upon it, curled its way around a scattering of grey boulders and away into the forest.

Tickling the edges of the open space were tiny white flowers hanging onto the end of long thin stems; the buds waiting to bloom were heart-shaped and a slightly lighter shade of green than the stems. Dotted along the soft mud that lined the brook were less pristine specimens, pink flowers with floppy petals that almost appeared dishevelled. Kali did not recognise either breed.

The horses were stripped of their equipment and packs and let free to investigate the area. The women dumped their belongings atop the driest patch of ground they could find and took deep, cleansing breaths of the chilly air. There was a moisture that hung about the land after the torrential rainfall, that lingered in the atmosphere and heightened their sense of smell.

Most of them had cut and torn up fingers and nails from scrabbling up the final stretch of wall when everything began to collapse. All of them had blisters from digging. They washed their hands slowly and carefully in the nearby stream; although, there was still the occasional wince.

“Those flowers are similar to the ones in Celandine, except they grow upwards instead of across the floor,” Lowri announced blandly. The aftershock of her near-death experience had drained a solid chunk of her inquisitiveness and excitement, but at least she had still found the energy to ask a question. The kid would be okay as long as she was still throwing out her queries.

Magali shook the frigid water from her hands before answering. “That is shepherd’s purse, far more useful.”

“Useful?”

Blaire explained, “Supposedly it can stop internal bleeding if you eat it and the leaves can repel insects when freshly picked.”

“It is also rather poisonous if you eat too much, though,” Eudora advised softly.

“What about those pink ones? What are they called?”

Again, Magali answered.“Those are ragged robin.”

“Do they have any special uses?”

“Not that I know of.”

A snort slipped from Kali’s nose. “There is something Magali does not know?” she asked with a grin.

With a dull look, Magali said, “If I know of none then there probably are none.”

Kali scoffed at her conceited words.

Once they were clean, at least to the elbows, the women divided to arrange a camp. Eudora had advised a couple of night’s rest and every member of their group was too fatigued to argue. Dani did what Dani did best: building a fire and boiling water and preparing for whatever they managed to scrounge together for their dinner. Lowri followed the stream and discovered it led into a sizeable lake. Kali handed the youngling her spear Selenia and instructed her to stab at shadows until she caught them enough fish to fill their bellies for the night. She had been half-joking, but the girl bounded away, suddenly filled with vitality again. Eudora watched her go with the eyes of a concerned mother who wishes desperately to follow her child everywhere they go. Kali turned away to focus on her own tent; she had confidence that Lowri would not hurt herself with the spear… at least not fatally.

Matilde sought her out after the other tents had been erected and the remaining women had busied themselves foraging, fishing, or caring for their own steeds. “Come. I would have some time in private with you,” she said quietly.

“No, thank you,” Kali responded instantly. She was not entirely sure why she said it. Usually, she would have thrown herself at Matilde, desperate for her touch and the eye-rolling orgasms that came with it. Suddenly, though, she could not find any arousal inside of her slim frame for this woman.

“What?” Matilde blurted.

“I do not feel like it.”

“You do not feel like having sex?”

A pause lingered in the air with the remains of the rain. Finally, Kali said,“No.”

“Are you unwell?”

She did not feel ill, but she certainly wasn’t herself. Matilde did not care for her ramblings though, so there was no point in attempting to explain.

“I am fine.”

“Are you playing a trick?” asked Matilde with brows disappearing into her dirty blonde hair. “Is this intended to be humorous?”

“I am serious. I am not in the mood.”

Matilde laughed without humour. “You are always in the mood for sex.”

With a look that could cut glass, or so her father had once told her, Kali grunted out, “well, not today.”

“Fine,” Matilde huffed. She strode away with stiff shoulders and a sour expression.

The frosty interaction stuck with Kali as she went about her duties caring for Merry, her prized palomino. Something had changed inside Silver Night Mine, and Kali no longer felt the attraction she had towards Matilde, her leader and lover. She brushed through Merry’s mane gently, slowly, taking her time to be with her thoughts. To think about what her lack of desire meant. She still felt something, but it wasn’t the fiery, spicy attraction that burned through her when she spied on Blaire. Matilde had seemed completely put-out at the rejection but Kali was sure she would recover her pride again swiftly enough. Her stomach growled with a bubbling sensation that drew Kali’s thoughts from Matilde to Lowri and the lake full of fish.

The young one did well for a first timer. She caught five sizeable fish and only ruined one with over-zealous stabbing, although Dani was able to cut out a few chunks of meat from its obliterated body. She received a great many back slaps and shoulder squeezes for her efforts. Kali had never been so glad to eat anything. As long as it wasn’t troll meat, she could guzzle it like a dog drinking water in the summer months.

Their dinner discussion quickly turned to the engravings Lowri had spotted upon the boulders by the water they had washed in. They were the symbols of Crystallinity, but Kali did not tell her that. She enjoyed watching the young maid irritate Magali with her child-like wonder which had returned full-force since her success with fishing. Magali sighed and rolled her eyes after having confirmed that the markings were, in fact, those of Crystallinity.

“I have no interest in that ridiculous religion, and I don’t know why you think I would be the one to educate you on it. Take my advice - don’t get involved in Crystallinity.”

Despite being a crystal collector herself, Dani still did not break her usual silence to defend her religion. Kali did believe she could see a slight down-turn to her lips, though.

“I thought most mages followed the teachings of Crystallinity?” Matilde enquired carefully. It was unusual for their great leader to be heard speaking in such a tone, but Kali could admit it may be fatigue rather than tact.

Magali sighed as though this was not the first, second or tenth time she had been asked this question. “That is a common misconception. There is a large group of mages who believe in Crystallinity that specialise in enchanting, but in other divisions it is not so cared for.”

“Is enchanting not one of your divisions?”

“It is, but I do not believe in our lives being set before us as a series of planned events, that every person is born for a specific purpose, that there is no free will because our entire existence is a carefully crafted storyline that cannot be altered.”

“Surely you believe in the energy exchange aspect of Crystallinity?” Matilde clarified between mouthfuls.

“I believe in energy exchange in terms of enchantments and the functioning of the world around us. It would be foolish not to believe that energy is being exchanged constantly in the forms of heat and gas and the very food that we consume. I do not, however, believe that crystals imbue us with sacred energies simply by being crystals.”

“Are crystals not needed to enchant items with energies?”

“Crystals act as conductors and containers when used to enchant, they are not a creator or a source.”

“But surely other enchanters know this, so why do they believe?”

“You will have to ask them. I do not associate with such people.”

“Why do any religious people believe in their faiths?” Kali mused.

“Kali, you should be able to answer that yourself; you _are_ religious,” Matilde reminded her with a tone full of exasperation. “You follow Star Gods rituals, do you not?”

“Not necessarily because I believe in them. I acknowledge only the most important festivities and practice only the most basic ceremonies.”

“I did not witness you pray once while we were confined to that mine,” Blaire said with a light layer of accusation.

“You cannot pray to the stars if you cannot see them.” In actuality, it was the stars which needed to see you, but she decided against explaining the deeper meaning and fables behind the Star Gods and their demands. In the cavern, the only opening to the sky had been directly above the pool of water which was fed from the rain pouring in for most of their entrapment. She could see the reflections of the stars occasionally when the water was still enough. But she would have needed to walk to the centre of the waist-deep water to pray if she wished the Star Gods to see her, and she did not think the group would take kindly to her wading into their drinking source.

“Is that genuinely how this religion works, or is she playing one of her little lie games?” Magali asked. It was apparent from her tone that she had not enjoyed Kali’s attempt to lift the mood with ‘the lie game’ inside the cavern.

Lowri was so gullible that the lie game had actually become rather boring after a few days. Although that did not mean that Kali had become bored of the girl herself; in fact, she had rather enjoyed her company while on her excavation team. They were four years apart, but the naivety in Lowri was staggering. It was very interesting to talk to her about her farm and the nearby village, the complete and utter lack of luxuries she had lived with for her first nineteen years of life. And yet, she seemed completely oblivious to the fact that she, at least from what Kali had gathered, had grown up in a household which skimmed above poverty by the skin of their teeth.

“Wait a moment,” Eudora interjected. “You practice the religion because you… do not believe in it?” she questioned slowly.

Kali snorted in laughter and surprise as she realised she was being addressed. “It is habit,” she answered honestly. “My family are genuine star followers, as is the community they live within.”

Lowri cleared her throat gently, letting her spoon drop in her bowl. “My… my family are star followers too,” she said.

“Oh?” Lowri had not mentioned this during any of their long digging talks.

“I have never been to a shrine though, and we only worshipped from our home-”

With a wave of her hand, Kali cut her off. She said, “You believe, no?”

Lowri nodded earnestly.

“Then that is enough,” Kali assured her.

The older women seemed shocked by her uncharacteristic sincerity, and it offended Kali just a little. She ignored their expressions of confusion and suspicion, though. She had her reasons and it was not for them to decipher them.

Once their utensils had been cleaned and stored, and the fire had been fed, Kali sought out Lowri in her shabby tent. The young woman was bent over to keep the high point of her frohawk from grazing the low-hanging material when Kali poked her head through the limp opening.

Lowri raised her head curiously, bumping it on the roof in her haste. 

“I will be saying prayers under the stars tonight if you wish to join me,” Kali whispered, as though they were sharing a scandalous secret.

A nervous smile burst onto her cherub-like cheeks. “Oh, I would love that,” she said quietly. “But I do not know all of the rituals an-”

Once again, Kali flicked her hand to interrupt the girl’s worries. “Do not fret, child. I can show you.”

Lowri’s grin dropped slightly and her brow creased. With pinched lips, she asked, “Why are you being so kind to me? I thought you did not even believe in the Star Gods.”

Kali huffed but could not keep a mild grin from her face. The child was at least a little more perceptive than she had given her credit for.

She gave a resigned sigh before responding. “Can you keep a secret, child?”

Lowri nodded, dark eyes round. Kali checked her surroundings for prying ears.

“My younger sister is in training to become a priestess of the stars,” she admitted. “She is not much older than you in fact.”

“You are not much older than me,” Lowri retorted, her expression straight as an arrow.

“Would you like my guidance or not?”

“Yes, please.”

“Good. And as for why I am being so kind, it is not for you. It is for Bala.” Kali knew as she spoke the words, they were only a half-truth. She could feel the soft spot growing in her chest for Lowri. There was a sweet and excitable energy that exuded from her; it was incredibly likeable.

“Your sister’s name is Bala?”

Instead of answering the question, Kali hissed, “Perhaps I owe her a few favours, and perhaps I feel helping you pray to her gods may be a start in repayment. Now, hurry along. I am very much looking forward to climbing into my bedroll and neither you nor the gods will keep me from it.” Although her tone did not sound quite as venomous aloud as she had intended it to.

She stepped back from the tent and Lowri scrabbled out after her, eager to learn how to communicate with the gods the correct way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you Rebelrsr for beta-ing! <3


	14. Chapter 14 - Eudora

Eudora

The first day in the grove had been utilized for rest. They had moved about sluggishly while creating their camp and had retired to their beds far earlier than would be expected of a group of established warriors such as themselves. But by the gods that Eudora did not believe in, had they needed it. Once the dawn broke, the women dragged themselves up groggily, stretching and groaning in between greetings. The morning air was crisp as the water of the nearby stream.

Over their measly breakfast of foraged berries and a bitter tea that been boiled with the roots of a plant Eudora could not differentiate from any other they came across, they agreed to stay two full days and two nights longer. They would leave just before first light of the fourth day. There was no bravado between them; every woman in the circle was utterly exhausted and they were not afraid to admit it. Magali appeared the worst for wear but anyone who knew Lowri could tell she had lost her usual youthful vigour.

Matilde appeared the least affected, but then she always had. The wash of nostalgic aching that had hit Eudora after watching Matilde save her youngest’s life was powerful. It stirred something deep inside of her that she did not want to think about. But that was not how the mind worked. It dredged up a reminder of Eudora’s favourite qualities in her once-lover: her bravery and strength and loyalty. She shooed the intrusive thoughts away; she could not allow herself to slip into her younger naivety. Instead, she used all her willpower to keep her eyes from roaming to Matilde when it was unnecessary, to put a fair distance between their bodies physically and emotionally.

The day passed swiftly, spent collecting wood, berries, and roots, catching fish, and washing the dirtiest of their items in the stream.

Usually when Eudora was in a larger group, they slept in staggered shifts so that someone was always keeping watch, but the babble of the stream and the easy sway of the trees around them soothed her. The grove had an aura of peace that sunk deep into her bones with every breath of the clean air. Now only she and Matilde remained sat beside the fire. A warmth was brewing between their bodies and it was not fuelled by the low-burning fire. Had watching Matilde’s act of heroism truly aroused her to such effect? Apparently so.

Their first time together, Dora had been a trembling mess and Matilde had been her teacher, guiding her through what to do and how to do it. But the most important lesson she learned from her mentor had been how to simply relax and allow herself to sink into the pleasure. She had not lain with another woman since Matilde, her first and only lover.

Matilde shifted in a barely noticeable act of adjustment, but Eudora’s heightened awareness of her brought her gaze instantly to the older woman’s body. She turned, the flickering flames reflected upon her glossy eyes, and stared back at Dora with an intensity to match the fire. Both held tense poses, their bodies rigid and their eyes locked onto one another. Matilde’s hand struck like a vicious snake, snatching at the collar of Dora’s under-shirt, and dragging her across the log they sat upon. She was between the older woman’s thighs in an instant, a hand at her throat and another at the small of her back. Matilde pressed a rough kiss to her startled lips, half-parted in preparation to scold her fellow leader.

A rush of nostalgia and warmth accompanied Matilde’s lips, flooding Eudora’s mouth and overflowing into the rest of her skull. The hands were firm, reliable and familiar, and she did not push her away. She did not even attempt to. Eudora kissed her back fiercely, convincing herself more and more with every dart of her tongue into Matilde’s mouth that it was fine to enjoy herself for one night. As long as it was only one night, she was fine. Women had needs and hers had not been met for a very long time. Matilde’s teeth grabbed her lip and she whined softly; she had forgotten how intoxicating the thrill of a strong woman, of being handled roughly but passionately, could be. She allowed herself to be taken over by Matilde’s forceful ministrations.

There were no witnesses awake or present to catch them falling into Matilde’s tent that night, limbs wrapped around each other so tightly they had become a three-legged, one-armed creature with two heads.

It was not logical that Eudora felt so refreshed, so energised, so filled with vigour, from a night of panting and sweating and clutching at her mouth. They had been at it for hours, far longer than they had ever lasted when they were a couple. And yet, there was something in Matilde’s controlling nature, in her reliable but rough movements, that relaxed Eudora. She wondered if perhaps leadership had been draining her, that a few hours spent without responsibility and authority had allowed her enough respite to recharge her energies.

With a high-toned hum she stretched her arms above her head and rolled over, almost knocking her forehead against Matilde’s in the process. The older woman was watching her, a sad look in her eyes. Eudora stared back, curious. Bird chirps and whistles filled the air along with the predictable trickling of the nearby stream. A blanket of tranquillity had fallen heavily upon their camp and Eudora was quite content to snuggle beneath it for at least a few more minutes.

“Everyone get the fuck up, now!” screeched a female voice that Eudora did not recognise. Her body leapt up without a thought, pulling on her nightdress and leather boots with flailing fingers. Once she had at the very least covered her delicates and feet, she found herself crushed against Matilde’s side as they both attempted to burst out of the small tent entrance at the same time.

Once they broke free of the warm tent, a wild scene unfolded before them: men and women in dark brown and black leather surrounded the camp, closing in on them swiftly with a variety of weapons drawn. Dani stood, fully dressed with crossbow drawn, in the centre of the chaos and was already firing off bolts at the closest attackers. Kali was swinging her spear viciously in nothing but a loose cream blouse and her underwear; three men were attempting to approach her but she was keeping them at bay; Lowri charged past in her nightie with mace and shield held aloft, and Blaire’s fluffy head stumbled out of her bedding with sword dragging along the ground in her struggle to pull on her cotton leggings. Matilde and Eudora exchanged the briefest of glances before swiping their own weapons from the ground and joining the fight.


	15. Chapter 15 - Blaire

Blaire

Barefoot, bleary-eyed and bed-headed, Blaire swung her sword with very little accuracy but a great deal of sleep-deprived fury. She could barely tell the darkly clothed figures apart, but she knew anyone that was not dressed for bed was most likely an enemy.

She hacked and slashed and jabbed messily, but it was enough to defeat those few charging at her directly eventually. The wounds she inflicted were shallow and haphazard but after enough hits they all went down. The muscles in her arms complained in small pulses of strained ache. Blaire had been taught to swing accurately, with power behind each strike, but she could barely remember her own name and age with her body still awaking so she did her best with muscle memory. In terms of injuries, she sustained -miraculously- only a tear to her leggings and a few nicks to her knuckles.

Once the tide had turned and their combined group was felling men and women in all directions, a few stragglers broke away in an attempt to flee. Dani picked them off smoothly with her crossbow. She was the only woman from their group wearing appropriate attire.

The difference in their lethality when combined with Matilde’s women was a mite terrifying. They cut down every mercenary in the time it took for the sun to rise fully, filling the grove with light that burned Blaire’s crusty eyes.

As the last man fell, Kali’s spearhead glittering out of the back of his neck, they moved into a huddle without command or hesitation.

“Is anyone hurt?” Eudora asked breathlessly. Her bow was slung over her shoulder and she had a fistful of arrows clutched in her left arm armpit.

“A few scratches,” Kali announced gleefully. Apparently, these scratches were not causing her enough pain to sour her mood.

“I have a cut on my thigh.” Lowri lifted her leg to present the cut to Eudora as she spoke.

Eudora leant in close to look and nodded. “It will need cleaning and covering but you will be fine.” She ordered her to the stream to clean it and then to return to Eudora’s tent for a bandage. Perhaps an overreaction but Blaire would never dare say so. It was most likely just as unnerving for Eudora how well they had disposed of so many attackers without any member of their group taking serious damage. But then, that was the advantage of riding with Matilde: she was particularly vicious when fighting her fellow humans. Folk tales often told of warriors ‘strong as ten men!’, but Blaire believed there were such people that existed with that level of power - that Matilde was one of them. If only she would take as much time to learn the weaknesses and soft spots of other creatures, she would be unstoppable. Unfortunately, the imps that had ambushed her group had been a clear example that Matilde was built for fighting men, not animals.

“Gods, Dani, I have never heard you holler like that before!” Kali chuckled, breaking Blaire’s strange path of thought she was meandering along. She often found her thoughts took little journeys of their own, wandering through her memories of their own accord.

Kali’s words echoed inside of head a second time and Blaire blinked a few times as she slowly processed the notion that the barked order of “Everyone get the fuck up, now!” which had awoken them all… came from Dani. She had made the immediate assumption upon grunting herself awake that the demand had been made by their approaching enemies.

The short woman shrugged, uninterested in the comment, and returned to the low fire that remained in the centre of their camp.

“I would not have thought that the owner of that old, decrepit mine could afford so many well-equipped mercenaries,” Blaire wondered aloud.

Magali was far too quick to offer, “Perhaps it was not the mine owner. Who knows what plethora of enemies our new friends have attached to them.”

“Do not blame me,” Kali gasped with faux innocence in her voice and a hand clutched to her chest as though she were offended by the notion. “I have never known anyone to consider me an enemy.”

“I have considered you an enemy to good sense since we met,” said Magali.

“Let us search the bodies before we begin flinging accusations,” Eudora advised as she pulled a navy woollen shawl from the floor of her tent and slung it across her shoulders, covering a large chunk of the skin that was left bare from her nightdress. Matilde did not bother to hide hers; she wore only cloth leggings and a brassier and she wore it well. It was a slight shock to see so much of her old friend after such a long time. Blaire had forgotten the extent of the labyrinth of scars that dug their chalky paths through Matilde’s fair skin. In full armour the only visible mark was a thick line that ran from the right side of the throat, just below her earlobe, down into the collar of her leathers where it crept to her left shoulder blade.

The women split to rifle through every pocket, pack and satchel attached to the fallen group once they all had covered their feet.

“A bounty,” Dani announced, lifting a thick piece of parchment to the air. It had two lines of folding marks and a mass of black, scrawled ink upon it.

Eudora and Matilde both reached for the paper expectantly, but Dani handed it to her leader without hesitation. Blaire could feel Eudora’s frustration in her mild frown. Matilde’s hazel eyes skimmed the words.

Matilde read out, “Eudora and company,” loudly enough for all in the clearing to hear.

An unfamiliar expression of infuriated surprise brushed across Dora’s features. “I do not have enemies,” was all she said.

“Yours is the only name on the bounty, but they are offering coin for the heads of your associates as well. A rather high amount for a woman with no enemies.”

“Matilde.” Eudora’s one-word answer was filled with warning.

“It must be the mine owner then,” Blaire said, feigning relief in an attempt to dispel the tight tension tethering the two leaders together like rope. They stood a foot apart, still as stones. “Eudora signs our contracts when we receive them, and her name would have been the owner’s only reference for the group that had been hired.”

“Does it truly matter now? They are dead, and I highly doubt a mine owner, whose mine is barren, would have the funds to hire such a crew again.”

“Yes, good work ladies,” Blaire added with a heavy smile. “Even in our bedclothes we have proven to be formidable.”

“Fine,” Matilde grumbled, finally handing the paper to Eudora and stalking away to her tent.

Kali, appearing as amused as usual, was first to begin stripping the bodies of their belongings and dragging them to the edge of the forest. For a woman who seemed not to own an ounce of shame, Blaire was surprised to see she allowed the mercenaries to keep their undergarments. The others followed suit once they had dressed themselves in light armour, just in case. Kali remained in her blouse, boots and underwear only, until after their midday meal when she also donned her riding armour.

It was during this meal that Eudora asked to speak to Blaire in private. Of course, Blaire obliged. Inside Dora’s tent she was shown the bounty. More importantly, Eudora had her focus on the initials signed at the bottom of the page: M K I.

“Those are not the initials of the mine owner,” Eudora whispered. “I know it could be a contractor who drew up the bounty on his behalf but-”

“I can tell you are concerned, and do not mean to worry you further, but have you examined the descriptions closely?”

“The description of the party?”

Blaire nodded and pointed at the fat section in the centre with a general description of the party. “The number of members is too low to be both our groups combined, but that is without a doubt a description of Matilde in the third line.” She slid her finger beneath the sentence: ‘Woman of wide, muscular build with brown-blonde hair, sun-darkened skin, aggressive disposition and half-plate armour.’

“There is no description of Magali,” Eudora mumbled as she scanned the list of women again. “She is easily the most distinct member of this group with her white skin, short hair and fine robes and yet all of these women described are clearly warriors, and only you and Matilde are described as fair.”

“The last time that Matilde and I were the only members of our party with lightly coloured skin was years ago, back when we rode with Joselle and Tay and that woman with the enormous axe.”

“I believe the best way to deal with this for the moment is to stay vigilant and alert and hope that this was a one-time assault, what do you think?”

“I agree. There is nothing else we can do for now, but please do not allow this to worry you into sickness.”

“I will try. Thank you for your concern.”

Blaire nodded solemnly, slipped out of the tent and rejoined the group lying about the fire and sweeping up the last of their lunch.

It was gone nightfall when they had shifted all of the bodies far enough away from their camp that they would not lead predators into their midst. They had filled their sacks with leathers and weapons that they would sell at the next town they passed through. The Gods knew they needed the money now that they would not be receiving payment for their work in the mine.

Around the campfire, on what would be their final night in the grove, Kali was raising the spirits of those who _were_ affected by the events of the morning. She was quite the storyteller, even if it was not always clear exactly which aspects of her stories were truth and what was fiction. Her tales were also always filled with vulgar language, regardless of the subject matter. Blaire enjoyed her company though, she reminded her greatly of her original troupe that she worked with as a teen. It had been full of roguish and frustratingly-easy-going characters that Kali would get on handsomely with. That was a very different line of work than what Blaire did now with Eudora, and she was grateful for it.

The tales had transitioned into those of lovers, good and bad and truly awful. After tying up a particularly sordid tale that had Lowri flushed to the tips of her ears, Kali turned to their youngest member with a mischievous gleam in her dark brown eyes, the flicker of the fire reflecting in them made her appear even more impish than usual.

“What about you, child? Do you like men or women?”

“I… I am not certain yet,” Lowri answered with innocent honesty.

“Understandable, given that you are still very young,” Blaire assured her.

Lowri looked down into the flames for a few minutes before replying, “Girls in the village on the hill outside our farm were married and pregnant by their eighteenth year.”

“How awful for them,” said Kali with what could have been perceived as genuine pity. But with Kali, Blaire had learned not to assume anything.

Instead of answering the blonde, she turned back to their youngest member and said, “Lowri, they are married so young by their families for financial gain and lineage security.”

Kali added, perhaps not helpfully, “And their entire lives become dedicated to small mucus-oozing creatures, until those creatures grow old enough that they do not need their mother, and then what do those women have?”

“A husband,” said Lowri.

“Exactly. What a horrifying thought.”

Blaire kept her focus on Lowri as she continued slowly, “It is not odd to crave love from another person, though.”

Kali could not be ignored, however. “And thankfully there is a cure,” she announced cheerfully.

“There is?” Lowri asked dejectedly.

“Of course, that is what whorehouses are for.”

“Kali!” Blaire gasped, finally turning to give the young woman a stern, scolding look.

Kali chuckled to herself. “You do not expect me to believe you have never lain with a woman you met that very day?”

“I have never paid for sex,” said Blaire stiffly.

“Have you ever _been_ paid?”

“Have _you_?”

“Never in coinage, but I have received a few rather expensive trinkets after a particularly intense night of passion,” Kali boasted with an awfully salacious grin.

Lowri, who had been bouncing her dark eyes back and forth between them as they bickered, took the break in the verbal battle to ask quietly, “Have you ever… um, with a man?”

A twist pulled Blaire’s lips into a smile that she truly tried to fight off. “If you can not speak the word you are certainly not old enough for sex,” she advised gently. Despite having reached the age of adulthood, Lowri had a youthful sweetness and innocence that Blaire desperately wished to protect for as long as was possible. There was nothing wrong with being a late bloomer, and she wanted Lowri to feel secure in lowering her petals when she was truly ready.

Kali said, “I have. Blaire? Have you been with a man?”

“No,” said Blaire.

“What was it like?” Lowri leant forward towards the heat of the flames, as though worried she would miss Kali’s answer.

“Mediocre,” Kali said to Lowri. “You have not missed anything,” she added to Blaire with a wink.

“How do I know if I like them?” It was unclear who Lowri was seeking an answer from, but Kali managed to find a response before Blaire had time to jump in first.

“Men?” She snorted a short laugh out at the mere thought of the opposite sex. “Well, if you would like my advice, I would assume you do not. At least not until the small voice between your legs tells you otherwise. There is no reason for you to waste your time with them unless you are sure.”

“Lowri,” Blaire said firmly, stealing her attention back. “You can experiment all you like; it is not a waste of time to learn about yourself.”

“Now that I can agree with, learn about your own body before you allow any other person to touch it.”

With a few blinks and the opening and closing of her mouth several times, Lowri finally answered, “I… I think I understand.”

“She is implying self-pleasure, Lowri,” explained Blaire.

“Oh.”

“In the privacy of your tent, of course,” Kali advised.

“Well, I do not-”

Kali was not finished with her counsel yet. “But best not start tonight as this conversation will have put us on high alert to any strange sounds in the night.” From her brightly lit face, Blaire could tell she had enjoyed this conversation far too much.

“Right. Yep. Thank you.” Lowri sounded breathless in her response and for a moment Blaire was concerned she may be going into shock. “Sh-shall we go pray?” she asked squeakily. Kali cackled as she stood and waved their youngest warrior away with her. Lowri bid Blaire a good night over her shoulder. Blaire nodded them off with a worried smile.

She was not sure if she felt comfortable to be left with her own thoughts sat beside the fire. After the discussion topic of lovers, she feared they may bring about foolish action from her.

Kali’s words from within the damp tunnel of the mine had been ringing in Blaire’s mind since the moment she had tasted the clean air of the outside world again. Would confessing to Magali be beneficial in any way? What was the worst that could happen? What was she hoping to gain? A mild buzzing sensation had settled at the base of her neck, increasing in intensity when she thought too hard about Magali, or came into close quarters with her… or looked at her from afar.

What attracted Blaire to the slim mage was unclear still even to her. They had very few similarities. If anything, she represented every luxury that Blaire had grown up without. Blessed with a level of education that Blaire couldn’t have fathomed as a child, strutting about in her fine clothes that billowed behind her while Blaire dressed in plain, banded mail armour. She moved with a confidence that gave her additional height, an aura shimmering about her that smelled of wealth. The way she spoke was sharp and impatient; Magali had no time for those she interpreted as being beneath her. But her intelligence drew Blaire in, it was fascinating that one person could hold so much knowledge in one small head, that she could be so certain of so many things. Magali had nothing in common with Blaire, she had nothing in common with anyone Blaire had courted or lain with, and yet she had had Blaire enraptured for months. She was a strange being that had Blaire’s attention tied to her like the lead rope of a pony.

Of course, her beauty helped. Delicate features pressing through thin skin that resembled the film atop cream, curving lips with a deep cupid’s bow and inky black hair chopped messily - her only physical imperfection, but it fit her well in that it had clearly been cut that way deliberately. Everything Magali did was with deliberation.

Her eyes, a black so deep and dark it sucked you in, appraised her in her approach. When had she risen from her seat beside the fire? When had she begun to walk towards Magali? Blaire did not know. Suddenly, she was getting closer and Blaire realised she must find something to comment on or announce soon or Magali may think she has gone strange.

Once there was but a few feet between them, Magali opened the conversation for her. “Is something amiss? You have a strange look on your face.”

Blaire blurted, “I have feelings for you.”

Magali’s robes fluttered in the soft breeze but the body beneath them did not move. For an agonisingly long time, her mouth did not move either.

Eventually, she asked in a low tone, “are these feelings… familial?”

“Romantic.” Blaire exhaled the word so softly it could have been mistaken for a sigh.

“What are you hoping to gain from this? What are your intentions?”

“I… do not know.”

“Then I can not be expected to give you a response to this declaration.” She walked away stiffly, her lips pinched together, draining the last ebb of colour from her face.

The entire encounter was over so quickly that Blaire felt too shaken to put one foot in front of the other until the air had grown uncomfortably crisp and she found herself shivering beneath her light armour. She ambled back to her tent with mouth open and eyes half-lidded. She did not sleep for the duration of their final night in the clearing.

In the earliest hours of the morning, their camp was packed in near silence aside from Kali’s occasional jests or crude jokes. There was a tension pulsing between the women that Blaire was far too distracted to hone in on and dissect. At the very least, she could tell it was not only she and Magali who were not acting themselves. They did not speak a word to each other that morning. Blaire knew not what to say and she could only assume that Magali felt there was nothing more to be said.

Matilde, Kali and Dani rode away first as the orange sky gave way to blue hues again. Farewells had been short and almost formal. Only Kali gave any physical affection before departure: a rough one-armed hug for Lowri, a hip-bump for Magali (which earned her a scowl), a two-handed shake for Eudora, and a chaste kiss on the cheek for Blaire (followed by wink as she retreated to her horse). They had their own contract to fulfil, one they had been on their way to begin when they had become entangled with Eudora and Co. It was not time-sensitive though, they had been tasked with culling the bear population on the border of the North and West regions and delivering the pelts to Rose Blood Castle, the royal base seated amid the torrential rain of the North.

Occasionally, the horrendous rainstorms that hovered permanently over the North of Elatior spread to the top of the West region, causing mud slides within the mountainous terrain. How lucky they had been to have had a contract send them to one of the many vulnerable mines in the area when the latest storm had hit. Blaire had thought Magali overly suspicious when they were trapped in the depths of Silver Night mine, but since escaping and reviewing their time in the dark and dank tunnels, she had found herself convinced that something was amiss. The mercenaries that had paid them an early-morning visit had tripled that feeling of unease.

Eudora led them from the clearing and back to the wide dirt road silently. They had decided to take the simple route back to Marius at Emerald Heart Keep. Blaire could sense Eudora was already revising in her mind how she would explain the disaster to him. If they lost his trust in their competency, they would not get the highly paid kingdom-issued contracts offered to them, at least not until they had proven themselves capable again. Eudora had a modest-sized but reliable reputation. As their leader she would be the one to take the blame for the incident which had occurred. Not that Blaire felt they were truly in any way responsible for the collapse of Silver Night mine. Had they not dug their way out, their remains would have sunk into the dirt in that dank pit never to be found. Blaire hoped Eudora would be able to recount their experience in a way that made that clear for the steward.


	16. Chapter 16 - Dani

Dani

Those seemingly endless nights spent sleeping in the damp mine had worn Dani’s nerves to shreds. It was neither helpful nor productive for her to have spent every waking moment (and many of the hours she should have been asleep) fixating on the consequences of her own death. On five small, round faces growing emaciated and grey as they await the next coin purse that never arrives. It was very difficult to put hideous thoughts out of your head when you spent all day following a monotonous routine of digging, eating and sleeping. No distractions or entertainment. Only ten fearful eyes watching her, begging her not to forget about them.

The relief of escape had been quickly trampled under the many feet of the mercenary group that had attacked them. Of course, they bested them, as was always the case for Dani since joining Matilde's group. Whatever trouble that Eudora woman had gotten herself into was none of Dani’s business, and she was more than glad to be out of the range of the great blazing target which was clearly pinned to the woman’s back. That was a curse if she ever saw one, and curses could be infectious. Of course, Dani had her protection crystals, so she personally was safe, but she did not like the thought of Kali or Matilde catching a curse and clouding their group with bad luck. Kali was enough of a nuisance due to personality alone.

In their last night in the grove, Dani had been unfortunately privy to the uncomfortable confession and subsequent rejection between two of Eudora’s women. They had been stood in the small clearing of lumpy grass beside Dani’s tent, and although their voices were lowered, they were not close to whispers. Dani had intended to never speak of the embarrassing incident to anyone.

When Kali mentioned, casually but inquisitively, that she had noticed Blaire standing aimlessly and alone by Dani’s tent when she had returned from her evening prayers, Dani admitted that yes, she did know why that was. Kali offered her a silver for her words, and she gave them - out of Matilde’s earshot, of course. From her understanding, their leader was once rather close with both Blaire and Eudora. Dani felt some pity for the woman at having been dismissed, but coin was coin and that was what Dani had left home for. If Kali wanted to pay to stick her thin little nose into other people’s romances, then so be it. It was not as though they would be seeing Eudora’s group again any time soon. Why Kali was so fascinated with the fluffy-haired Blaire was a mystery, but not one Dani cared enough to think too hard about.

She was far more interested in the pressing mystery of how she had ended the day with more kills than both of her companions combined. Perhaps Kali was not the only one emotionally invested in one of the women they had left behind outside of Celandine.

If all three of them had skinned as many bears as she had (four) then they would have completed their contract by nightfall. Instead, each of her comrades had only managed to take down one furry beast each. Dani was not working these contracts for fun or adventure; she needed money and she needed it quickly. The coin they had made from selling their share of the mercenaries’ armour, weapons and trinkets had been a much needed boost in funds, but when tallied against the amount they had lost while stuck in that dirty little hole outside Celandine, they had not made enough profit in the last week for her to send a purse to her sisters.

As they sat about their campfire for the night, she decided she could not stay silent on the matter.

She did not look at them when she announced, “You are both missing Eudora’s party.”

“What makes you say that?” Matilde said irritably.

“This hunting contract should have been completed today.”

“And we will complete it tomorrow. It is only one extra day. We were not given a time constraint on the contract.”

“It is not the contract that is held to a time constraint.”

“I am more than happy to lend you any coin you need, Dani.”

“I do not borrow money.”

Moneylending was buried at the root of her exhausting, anxiety-ridden adulthood. Her father’s inability to turn down a bet, or what he believed was a handout, had led the entire family down a rabbit hole they could not scrabble out of no matter how hard they tried.

Kali scoffed. “You have never offered to lend me money!” she accused Matilde.

“You would spend it on obnoxious face paints.”

An interesting accusation, given that for quite some time it was Matilde’s bedding that was often smeared with Kali’s gold eye paint. Dani had never acknowledged their couplings, it did not appear to be any more than that, which meant it was none of her business.

“Money well spent!” Kali responded with a cackle.

“I can admit…” Matilde began tentatively. “I felt ill at ease leaving Eudora and her women after the mercenary attack. They could not fend off an attack of that kind without our assistance.”

Dani turned to them, finally dragging her eyes from the weak fire that cackled ahead of her.

“You wish to merge with them again?”

“Is that a euphemism for sex?” Kali asked with a head tilt, her arrow-straight locks leaning with her.

“I am not looking to stalk them, join them, or overindulge in unnecessary company.” Matilde huffed. “I simply feel that the situation warrants… a check… for reassurance of their safety.”

How strange for Matilde to speak with such a defensive tone with her own women. A nerve had been poked, a sensitive one. Although, what did one expect from wind-up merchant extraordinaire Kali? Irritating others and pushing boundaries were merely two of her many hobbies.

“That certainly sounds like stalking,” Kali commented unhelpfully.

Dani took a long but quiet breath before voicing her suggestion. “They are returning to Emerald Heart Keep to inform the steward of the result of their contract. We can request information from him without giving chase.”

“This is the West-North border and we are to bring these pelts North. Are you suggesting we travel up to finish our contract and then tread back on ourselves to return to the West where we originally rode from?”

Dani shrugged, a weariness overtaking her at having pushed her vocal energy to its limits for the day. She mumbled, “I suppose it depends on how worried you truly are.”

Matilde fell silent, and miraculously, so did Kali. Dani took advantage of the silence to compose a letter in her mind that she would write once she had dished out their evening meal. Her sisters would need to be informed as soon as possible that funds would be tight for another week.


End file.
